This film has in its corner the fact that it has a more than capable director at its helm (Denzel Washington). All its technical aspects from the ground-up are first rate, and the late August Wilson’s adaptation of his 1983 play feature intense, funny, and often profoundly moving dialogue exchanges.

But it’s all about the acting, man.

The origins of the piece are very obviously on show here, with all entrances, exits, sets and props looking like they had been lifted carefully from a stage. Washington – as director – does what he can to lessen the impact of the constraints that a single-setting drama would have in the theatre by staging no two scenes in the same way – we move in doors, or to the side of the house, or to a corner of the small backyard. And, there is nothing quite like seeing a well-rehearsed piece between two seasoned pros – the two leads would have done this play more than 100 times together. The results speak for themselves.

The inescapable truth behind watching Washington and Viola Davis perform in this piece is that film acting does not – can not – get any better than this. You watch Washington and Davis work off each other, first lovingly, then with a kind of vehemence that you’d think cannot be feigned, and you wonder why anyone else bothers.

Like that time Tom Hanks’s Captain Phillips had a breakdown at the end of that film; Daniel Day Lewis in There Will Be Blood, or Cate Blanchett in Blue Jasmine – you watch these performances and the first thing that hits you is the magnitude of human experience, the sheer depth of emotion that can be mined in order that it be replicated for the sake of popular entertainment. Humans should not be able to fake this kind of emotion, and yet…

Fences is a masterclass in film acting, and shows the virtues of stagecraft (acting, specifically, when it comes to repetition and rehearsal) can reap rewards when adapted to the screen. While the film could have used a more cinematic take, you cannot fault the performances.