Clemency (2019)

November 22, 2020 7:49 PM

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.

Sundance winner.

posted by latkes (2 comments total)

Alfre Woodard is a goddamn genius and the fact that she didn't get an Oscar nomination for this (which, I totally already know of course they wouldn't but still), is proof that the Oscars are trash. Tour de force is the obvious descriptor of her performance but it's so reserved, so internal, that there's some other term needed, I don't know what it is.

All the other performances were good to. Quite a switch for Aldis Hodge who I'd only ever seen in Leverage. I thought Richard Schiff was terrific as was Wendell Pierce.

According to reviews Chukwu did an enormous amount of research on prisons and the death penalty and it shows. This feels incredibly real.

I avoided watching this for a while because the subject is so disturbing. I have kind of a rule about 'message' movies that if I already agree with the point (death penalty is bad) then I don't make myself watch. And it is a painful watch. But the performances are so good and the environment so immersive (big props to the production designer Margaux Rust who made this feel incredibly real.)
posted by latkes at 8:01 PM on November 22, 2020

Forgot to mention it's on Hulu at the moment. Don't miss.
posted by latkes at 8:02 PM on November 22, 2020