My Review- Clemency
My Score 6.5/10
I watched this film only to see the performance of Alfre Woodard who stars as Bernadine Williams. Alfre has just received a Best Actress nomination from the British Academy Film Awards for a very difficult and dramatic role. I have one question was her nomination a race balance decision or was it at the expense of Carey Mulligan in " Promising Young Woman" ? I have my view but admit Alfre Woodward does give a fine performance but I've seen finer this year.
The movie Clemency written and directed by Chinoye Chukwa who was inspired to write the film after the widely protested execution of Troy Davis in Georgia in 2011. Her six years of research included running a film programme for inmates in Ohio and advocating for retrials in unsafe cases.
It's inconceivable to me as I find the concept of human execution horrific that ten years after Chinoye Chukwa started the project that the Donald Trump in the lead up to leaving The White House could approve 6 executions in one month before the Biden inauguration.
This movie is tough to watch especially the beginning snd I think that's why I didn't get any hope from the story or any empathy with the main character Bernadine the Head Warden on Death Row where she "has just being doing her job" after years of carrying out death row executions that now have taken a toll on the emotional life of Bernadine Williams. As she prepares to execute another inmate Anthony Woods played so well by Aldis Hodge.
Another good performance also from Richard Schiff as Marty Lumetta who's advocating for clemency for his client Anthony .
Another film on the same subject "Mercy" 2019 is far superior to "Clemency " it starred Michael B Jordan and was totally ignored by BAFTA and OSCAR and we all know it's not always the best film or performances that get the accolades.
Due to the film's heavy subject matter and sometimes depressing tone, director Chinonye Chukwu made sure to keep the tone on set happy and light, and checked in on actors between takes.
I can understand why because Clemency is heavy and depressing in contrast to "Mercy" a true story that did have some very dramatic and hard to watch scenes but left the audience uplifted and hopeful of change .
It's very encouraging to read that Civil rights groups are pushing Joe Biden to fulfill promise of ending the death penalty.
