Exhibiting Forgiveness

Watched this at Sidewalk Film Festival and was absolutely moved to ugly tears in the theater. I went in having only seen the trailer and expected a typical telling of learning how to forgive. This was much deeper and incredibly done, having many parallels to my own life I was not prepared for how deeply this movie would affect and impact me. Crowd reactions were very interesting and intense and quite telling as to who had experienced similar trauma and who was able to laugh at the jokes surrounding the situation. The film was inspiring, healing, painful and powerful, with an emphasis on showing the reality of how our actions impact others permanently. Amazing directorial debut and stellar performances by all the cast.

No matter what anyone might say, and regardless of how virtuous its impact may be, extending forgiveness to another is nevertheless often difficult. While it's true that the benefits to come from it can be considerable, reaching that point generally requires overcoming significant pain, resentment and disappointment. Such is the case for Tarrell (André Holland), a gifted and successful artist whose work is in great demand. However, the profound artistry behind his paintings stems largely from his difficult upbringing, having been raised mostly by his loving mother, Joy (Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor), after she booted Tarrell's abusive, drug-addicted father, La'Ron (John Earl Jelks), from their home. Despite the departure of the source of that agony, the pain of Tarrell's existence has lingered ever since, and his painting has served as an important form of de facto therapy. But the roots of his anguish remain, and he has difficulty getting past his past - that is, until his long-absent dad reappears in his life. Trying as it might be, this unexpected reunion presents an opportunity for Tarrell, Joy and La'Ron to work through their ordeal, but are they up to it? That's what writer-director Titus Kaphar's debut feature seeks to do, a story drawn in part from his own experience and featuring paintings created by the filmmaker himself. Through this story, the act of forgiveness is explored from myriad angles, unflinchingly depicting the pain and difficulty involved in achieving it. The picture also shows how the impact of such torment can "unwittingly" extend to others, including ostensibly innocent bystanders like Tarrell's wife, Aisha (Andra Day), who puts her own career as a musician on hold while she attempts to help her husband sort out his issues, a simmering source of strain in their marriage. This is all effectively brought to life through an artistically beautiful, gorgeously photographed production, backed by an emotive and engaging soundtrack. Admittedly, the pacing could use a little shoring up in spots, and the emotional depth that seemingly should have infused the writing for certain scenes doesn't quite reach the peak that it could have, but those drawbacks are well camouflaged by the fine performances of the ensemble, especially Holland and Ellis-Taylor, who deliver some of the best work of their careers. Most importantly, though, "Exhibiting Forgiveness" is definitely a movie with a powerful message, and it makes no effort to conceal it. It drives home its point with forcefulness and clarity, as well as fearless, unapologetic candor, successfully avoiding the pitfall of sugarcoating, soft peddling or sanitizing how challenging a process extending forgiveness can be. We could all learn a lot from that - and, considering the state of affairs in our world these days, it would behoove us if we did.

I saw this at a surprise screening so I walked in not knowing what I was going to watch. The movie started and it wasn't the movie I guessed was going to screen. Thought about leaving, but decided to give it a chance. I'm so glad I did!! This movie is a powerful and heartbreaking story about the need and power of forgiveness. Hats off to everyone involved! The writing, directing, and performances were all top notch! After realizing it was a story about a difficult father/son relationship, I wondered how they would avoid cliches. This movie masterfully navigated the ins and outs of their relationship. It was tough to watch at parts, but it was so well done that it didn't feel preachy, condescending, or taking the easy way.

Cried multiple times throughout! Absolutely loved this movie!! Definitely a top 5 favorite of the year!

This film is powerful, heartfelt, and very thoughtful. The director-writer of this film, Titus Kaphar, is an artist himself, and you see this from the time the film begins. Never have I seen such a cool, artistic integration of the opening credits into the scenery on screen. In addition to being an artist, this is the director's feature film debut, which is a pleasant surprise. This is certainly one of the best directorial debuts in recent years.

What really elevates this film is how raw and true to life it is. Everything from how the characters behave, how they talk, what they wear, the houses they live in, the cars they drive. Because it's so raw, there are many scenes that may be triggering. There are scenes of domestic violence, emotional abuse, panic attacks, loud bangs of things being thrown around in anger, etc. It's one of the best films I've ever seen about dealing with trauma and parental estrangement. It never really felt like I was watching a film. It felt like I was watching a real person's life unfold before my eyes. It's also wonderful to see a high-quality film directed by and starring black people that isn't stereotypical and is accurate to the lives of many black Americans. I don't want to spoil much as this film is best enjoyed blindly; but the abusive parents of the lead character validate their abuse by hiding behind the Bible and Christianity. That's something that obviously occurs in general, but particularly in the black community in the US. The film so beautifully drives home how important it is to work through your trauma, and does so so lushly, without feeling ham-fisted or like a blunt instrument trying to wallop you with the message of forgiving your abusive past. It elegantly and incisively tackles the taboo but important topic of generational trauma, especially in the black community. The only issue the film has is that it can drag at times. There are many overlong scenes of architecture and paintings and the neighborhood landscapes in the film that, while often beautiful and pleasing to look at and supposably left in the film by the director to add to the ambience, don't add much to the film. About 20 mins could've been shaved off the runtime, and this film would've still been amazing.

The acting across the board is top-notch. André Holland, John Earl Jelks, and Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor turn in excellent performances. Holland is stunning, seamlessly and heartbreakingly portraying Tarrell, a traumatized man trying to move forward and finally find peace in his life; Jelks is convincing and unsettling as the mentally unstable and formerly-drug-addicted abusive father; and Ellis-Taylor is great as the guilt-ridden mother. Even the child actor portraying young Tarrell, Ian Foreman, was good. Child actors can often be mediocre, but Foreman was impressive. Andra Day isn't given much to do acting-wise, but her singing in the film is very nice.

The story is simple but very effective. Doubly so if you've dealt with abuse or trauma. The cinematography is nice, as is the music throughout the film. This is a profoundly moving, heartwrenching, tough, cathartic, and rewarding film. For those who've unfortunately been traumatized by anyone, this film feels therapeutic as we see the protagonist exorcise his inner demons and learn how to move forward in life despite his difficult past. And for those lucky enough to not have experienced trauma, this film provides a stunningly verisimilar portrait of a deeply traumatized man trying to find happiness in life. Highly recommended.

Honestly, I went into watching 'Exhibiting Forgiveness' with no expectations at all. There's a stellar cast here and I figured anything with Aujunue Ellis was bound to be descent. I was so pleasantly surprised by this film that really tackles some taboo subjects in the Black community like drug abuse, physical abuse, generational trauma, religious abuse, etc. It goes in and takes such a realistic look at the grieving process and what forgiveness actually looks like. The dialog was fantastic and this was my first time seeing Andre Holland in a film. POWERHOUSE. Thank goodness this didn't rely on the tropes that we often see in cinema surrounding this subject matter. Very strong feature debut from Titus Kaphur. I can't wait to see him share more of his art with the world.