2019 Directed by Chinonye Chukwu
Years of carrying out death row executions have taken a toll on prison warden Bernadine Williams. As she prepares to execute another inmate, Bernadine must confront the psychological and emotional demons her job creates, ultimately connecting her to the man she is sanctioned to kill.
Alfre Woodard Richard Schiff Aldis Hodge Wendell Pierce Danielle Brooks Michael O'Neill Richard Gunn LaMonica Garrett Vernee Watson-Johnson Dennis Haskins John Churchill Alex Castillo Alma Martinez Michelle Bonilla Jed Bernard William B. Simmons II Noshir Dalal Debbie Pollack Vivan Dugré Maurice Williams Harvey B. Jackson Dan Lawler Joe Ordaz Zedric Harris Andrew Somers Melissa Harris Ruth Banks Mataya Stephanie Ugo Shannon Burwell Show All…
Lorita de la Cerna Mary Jo Devenney Raymond Park Alexander Jongbloed Demetri Evdoxiadis Joshua Crisci
Laupeus, Halastus, Mildhet, Gailestingumas, Clemência
USA
Sundance Film Festival
Canada
Toronto International Film Festival
UK
London Film Festival
USAR
Canada
Canada
UK
USA
“you can’t save the world”
very sparse at times to a fault, but otherwise so compelling. this one will haunt me
Outstanding advocacy drama, a panoramic and totally empathetic view of the fallout from state-sanctioned murder. Seriously, the moves this thing refuses to make.
my eyes hurt from crying i WILL see Alfre Woodard win an academy award for this i speak it into existence
Winner of the Grand Jury Prize at the 2019 Sundance Film Festival, Clemency exposes any misconceptions that capital punishment carries any aspects of composure within its contours. Written and directed by Chinonye Chukwu with a comprehensive perspective of a justice system where little improves or changes for the positive despite even the most intense representatives from inside the system attempting to make changes. The films most fascinating aspect is how it's leading star Alfre Woodard (as warden Bernadine Williams) fully demonstrates what her character is thinking and perceiving against the difficulties that Chukwu generates in the warden’s extraordinary responsibilities. Cinematographer Eric Branco contributes some emblematic portraits and Chukwu luminously displays her characters in a variety of different ways. This is a movie which suggests that no matter what position one inhabits within the capital punishment system, the administrative protocols and procedures will invariably take their toll.
I admire a lot of this, especially when it comes to tackling difficult, important topics head on and challenging our perspectives. The fact that a black woman is at the center as Warden is already something we haven't seen much of before in prison narratives. Additionally, Woodard and Hodge both turn in great performances, and Chukwu's directing is understated but occasionally powerful - the opening sequence is noteworthy, as well as a scene in which Woodard's character coolly recites the execution procedure to Hodge's character.
However, it's also a film that has considerable difficulty cohering into something compelling. The film tries to provide insight into the warden's struggling marriage, but all of those scenes feel bland and forced - there…
A respectful bow to Chinonye Chukwe, the writer/director of Clemency, for taking on the hefty subject of the death penalty without softening it. It should be a very difficult film to get through, but with an assertive shot selection and lean dialogue that strips everything down to its bare essentials, the film envelops you. It opens with an execution gone wrong, and whomever is next in line to die by the mandate of the state should not go through the same torment at time of death. If you’re anti-death penalty, well, nobody should die at all. Especially not an innocent man though who has had new evidence come in that casts a shadow of doubt that he’s guilty at all.…
As I left the theater after seeing Clemency, I texted a few friends that the experience of the film was like laying down beneath a cold, wet blanket of unhappiness for two hours. With a few days perspective, the feeling has not changed. It’s a withering, enervating, depressing experience. That isn’t to say the movie isn’t worth your time, it’s an impressive character study. It’s made with a cool, calm precision. Chinonye Chukwu is excellent at putting her actors in a place to succeed. At each moment, I felt the camera and edit perfectly succeeding in capturing the excellent performers. That’s no small feat in a movie mostly made up of scenes of one-on-one dialogue between character pairs.
Alfre Woodard…
Alfre Woodard + Adèle Haenel = Camera lingering on their face for several minutes as they cry
Rotten Tomatoes - 92% certified fresh
IMDb - 6.5 Metacritic - 77
* Really great movie about death penalty and it's ramifications on people who are part of that process.
* I actually believe in capital punishment if it is carried out by a good justice system. I don't want people like Ted Bundy alive because it is not an option. However, the truth is that most of the justice systems in the world (like the American system portrayed in this movie) are very flawed. Many kinds of biases and corruption plague every part of the system including investigation and trial. So the chance for innocent people to get wrongly convicted is high. In United States as portrayed in the…
Somewhat conflicted on this. On one hand, some of the subplots (i.e., the husband subplot) feel a bit too tacked on and even affect the pacing, holding the film back from being more compelling as a whole.
On the other hand, this is otherwise more or less what the adequate but painfully and predictably safe Just Mercy should’ve been. Whereas Just Mercy, despite its earnest intentions, acknowledged that the justice system is flawed but ultimately felt designed to be palatable to white neoliberals and awards voters, Clemency actually goes *deeper* and is unafraid of challenging viewers. Chinonye Chukwu’s direction is strong and the film is highly thought-provoking, but what really drives Clemency are the performances from Alfre Woodard,…
After watching Clemency, I feel confident in stating that Chinonye Chukwu has given us one of the most complex characters that I’ve seen on screen in quite some time. Bernadine Williams (Alfre Woodard) is a woman of clarity and also an enigma. She is a prison warden; a woman who’s spent years carrying out the dictates handed down by a flawed and impartial judicial system that is seemingly able to rid itself of the potential hang ups that imposing the death penalty on another human being might bring by saddling Bernadine and those under her command with carrying out the final act. During her time as warden she’s carried out 12 of these executions. We witness two and from start…
