IMDb RATING
4.9/10
2.9K
YOUR RATING
A successful author and spiritual advisor takes on a troubled man as a client, completely unaware that the man's fixation on his mother's death will soon put his life in jeopardy.A successful author and spiritual advisor takes on a troubled man as a client, completely unaware that the man's fixation on his mother's death will soon put his life in jeopardy.A successful author and spiritual advisor takes on a troubled man as a client, completely unaware that the man's fixation on his mother's death will soon put his life in jeopardy.
- Director
- Writers
- Stars
Betsy Clark
- Maggie's Friend
- (as Betsy Clark-Calland)
Ken Massey
- Book-Signing Fan
- (uncredited)
- Director
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
4.92.9K
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
Featured reviews
It's not all about the money
And by this I'm not only talking about the budget (which seems to be a big concern for another reviewer), but also about the story of the movie. Sometimes there is more to a story than the first glimpse reveals. It may feel like the movie tries to cheat its way into the viewers mind a little bit, but the actors make up for it.
This is still a tough watch, because the title is chosen for a reason. There is not always reason to things happening in the movie and it seems a bit like a muddle from time to time, but it's still able to hold up a certain degree of suspense, if you let it to. The actors try their best to divert from some holes in the script (or finished movie, if scenes got deleted for pacing reasons) and the movie will be explicit in depicting violence to a degree.
This is still a tough watch, because the title is chosen for a reason. There is not always reason to things happening in the movie and it seems a bit like a muddle from time to time, but it's still able to hold up a certain degree of suspense, if you let it to. The actors try their best to divert from some holes in the script (or finished movie, if scenes got deleted for pacing reasons) and the movie will be explicit in depicting violence to a degree.
Waste of a good cast. 3/10
Review: I had high expectations from this film because it had some decent actors in it, but the storyline is sketchy and the pace of the film made it quite boring. If you use your head, the film is predictable from beginning to end although it's supposed to be a suspense thriller. It also seemed a bit over acted and the director chose to jump right at the deep end which didn't give the characters that much depth. The concept, which is about a man who has psychological issues after the death of his mum and he decides to get help from a psychologist, doesn't seem to go anywhere for the first half of the movie and then it gets extremely dark out of the blue. The ending was also very sketchy so you end up feeling a bit cheated after spending so much time waiting for the story to unfold. Personally, I thought that the movie seemed a bit cheap and not very well thought through. Disappointed!
Round-Up: Forest Whitaker is not an actor that has chose the easiest path in his career. I would have thought that he has earned the right to pick and choose what roles to take, so it might just be down to bad choices why he has starred in so many dodgy movies lately. From big movies like the Butler and The Last King Of Scotland to the dodgy Pawn, Crossfire and the Truth, he has really had a rollacoaster of a career. Maybe he's just addicted to work like Samuel L. Jackson and Robert De Niro. Anthony Mackies career has picked up lately with roles in the new Captain America, Pain and Gain and the new Avengers movie, so I doubt that this film will harm his portfolio. In all, this film must have looked good on paper but it just wasn't put together well by the director.
Budget: $5million Worldwide Gross: $1million
I recommend this movie to people who are into their suspense/drama/thrillers about a man whose suffering with psychological problems after the death of his mother and seeks for help from a successful book writer. 3/10
Round-Up: Forest Whitaker is not an actor that has chose the easiest path in his career. I would have thought that he has earned the right to pick and choose what roles to take, so it might just be down to bad choices why he has starred in so many dodgy movies lately. From big movies like the Butler and The Last King Of Scotland to the dodgy Pawn, Crossfire and the Truth, he has really had a rollacoaster of a career. Maybe he's just addicted to work like Samuel L. Jackson and Robert De Niro. Anthony Mackies career has picked up lately with roles in the new Captain America, Pain and Gain and the new Avengers movie, so I doubt that this film will harm his portfolio. In all, this film must have looked good on paper but it just wasn't put together well by the director.
Budget: $5million Worldwide Gross: $1million
I recommend this movie to people who are into their suspense/drama/thrillers about a man whose suffering with psychological problems after the death of his mother and seeks for help from a successful book writer. 3/10
How could Forrest Whitaker Stoop This Low
Forrest Whitaker is one of the most talented actors I have seen within the last few decades. I would put him on the same level with Sidney Portier, Denzel Washington, and Daniel Day-Lewis. His character in the Last King of Scotland was astonishing and the Oscar he received for the role was truly earned.
I guess it doesn't take long for Hollywood to forget how talented an actor is, and Whitaker wasn't offered anymore challenging roles. I guess, for financial reasons, he took whatever roles were offered.
To say this movie was completely awful and was poorly written is an understatement. The characters were unbelievable and the storyline did not make any sense. First of all, how could a street thug become transformed into a licensed therapist and earn TWO graduate degrees within a time frame of 4 years? How come the little girl did not hear any screaming after she left the locked room she was in? Why did the child's mother allow the father to have so much unsupervised time with the child? It was obvious he was unbalanced and unstable.
I just can't believe how low Whitaker stooped to make this garbage. Not worthy of an actor of his caliber.
I guess it doesn't take long for Hollywood to forget how talented an actor is, and Whitaker wasn't offered anymore challenging roles. I guess, for financial reasons, he took whatever roles were offered.
To say this movie was completely awful and was poorly written is an understatement. The characters were unbelievable and the storyline did not make any sense. First of all, how could a street thug become transformed into a licensed therapist and earn TWO graduate degrees within a time frame of 4 years? How come the little girl did not hear any screaming after she left the locked room she was in? Why did the child's mother allow the father to have so much unsupervised time with the child? It was obvious he was unbalanced and unstable.
I just can't believe how low Whitaker stooped to make this garbage. Not worthy of an actor of his caliber.
A movie with shades of Misery that dragged just enough to make it hard to stay completely involved in.
"Seems like you were in need so I figured I'd reach out to you." Tommy Carter (Mackie) is an author and spiritual adviser who wrote a book about his near death experience and tries to help others deal with what they have gone through. When his brother gets into trouble Tommy thinks the best way to help is is to do one more one-on-one session. He offers to help Angel (Whitaker), a husband and father who lost his mother but still sees her. When Tommy tells him he can't help him anymore Angel doesn't like that answer. This is a movie that I had no idea what to expect out of it. I thought it was gonna be a little creepy but when it started becoming a little like Misery I got into it. The acting is great from these two and the movie stays pretty tense the entire time but it was also a little draggy in some parts and I found it hard to totally stay focused on. This is a movie that is worth seeing if you can but don't expect anything super amazing. Overall, a movie with shades of Misery that dragged just enough to make it hard to stay completely involved in. I give it a B-.
psychological thriller lover's delight
Sadly this film may not be embraced by the masses, as bad as they need to see those types of films, but one can hope. One ought to be sharp and capable of following intelligent plot to really enjoy this film. It's not the 6th sense, where everything is pretty much spelled out for you yet still maintains it's integrity by being genius. This is more for the figure it out, use your brain kind of audience.
The cast bring it in terms of acting, my congratulations to the people who thought this would be great for an all black cast. The direction, the casting, was brilliant. Mind, consciousness, terror, a strong sense of reality, moving at real life pace, all the ingredients for a great psychological thriller are there. Very atypical for an all black cast, remember, I said atypical, please look it up and don't get confused. I personally think they should have maintained the original title VIPAKA. I played the Seer so I won't comment on my brilliant work :), I read the guidelines and it doesn't say I can't review a film I'm in, since many actors don't like films they're in, this one, is definitely worth a shot especially if you like the actors in it, (I personally can never take my eyes off of Forest Whitaker) and that genre, you will be happy you saw it.
The cast bring it in terms of acting, my congratulations to the people who thought this would be great for an all black cast. The direction, the casting, was brilliant. Mind, consciousness, terror, a strong sense of reality, moving at real life pace, all the ingredients for a great psychological thriller are there. Very atypical for an all black cast, remember, I said atypical, please look it up and don't get confused. I personally think they should have maintained the original title VIPAKA. I played the Seer so I won't comment on my brilliant work :), I read the guidelines and it doesn't say I can't review a film I'm in, since many actors don't like films they're in, this one, is definitely worth a shot especially if you like the actors in it, (I personally can never take my eyes off of Forest Whitaker) and that genre, you will be happy you saw it.
Did you know
- TriviaAnthony Mackie and Forest Whitaker both starred in Marvel cinematic films, although they didn't costar in a Marvel movie together. Mackie portrayed the hero 'Falcon', and friend to Chris Evan's 'Captain America', in multiple movies. Whitaker portrayed 'Zuri', a trusted aide and friend to the royal family of Chadwick Boseman's titular hero character 'Black Panther'.
- Quotes
Tommy Carter: Drugs don't cure pain; they just mask it.
- ConnectionsReferenced in Cause and Effect: The Making of Repentance (2014)
- SoundtracksHustla Music
Written by Benjamin Lakey and Glenn Browder
Performed by Ben Lakey
Courtesy of Benair Churchill LLC
Published by Benair Churchill (ASCAP) / Songs of Benair Churchill (BMI)
- How long is Repentance?Powered by Alexa
Details
Box office
- Budget
- $5,000,000 (estimated)
- Gross US & Canada
- $1,189,612
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $501,290
- Mar 2, 2014
- Gross worldwide
- $1,194,961
- Runtime
- 1h 30m(90 min)
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 1.85 : 1
Contribute to this page
Suggest an edit or add missing content






