Repentance

This is one of those films that is largely based on the interpretation of the actors, who do the best they can with the material given to them and the instructions given by the director, Philippe Caland. The story told did not seem to have an exceptional relevance: it becomes quite predictable from the middle onwards and have some serious problems to consider.

So it's not surprising if I say that the best stuff here is the solid dramatic performance by Forrest Whitaker, an actor who has been on the rise since the beginning of the millennium and who has had a very promising career. This film is not one of his best, but his powerful and intense performance gives the film more interest. He is absolutely believable as a person in pain, disturbed, mentally unstable, but who has a heart and is not evil, although he is threatening in a convincing and brutal way. Anthony Mackie cannot keep up with him, but he also does a positive work. His character is denser than it seems at first glance, but this will only be understood as we see him interact with Whitaker. Despite a worthy attempt by Sanaa Lathan, we don't have a good supporting cast, and Mike Eps is particularly disappointing with his uninspired portrayal.

The script is based on the relationship between a visibly disturbed man and a therapist and author of self-help books, who accepts him as a patient despite not usually doing so. After all, he needs the money to help a bully brother. Unfortunately, he doesn't seem to understand that this isn't the kind of help his new patient needs: the man is showing signs of psychosis or schizophrenia and needs a psychiatrist, not a guru of happy thoughts and Tibetan meditation. This therapist, if he has any experience, should have understood this: instead, he continues and makes the situation worse by suggesting that he stop the medication, perhaps an antidepressant, that was prescribed. The rest are consequences.

Honestly, I feel that this was enough to make a good film, even with the painful scenes that follow and that constitute the "core" of the film. The story of the car accident didn't need to be there. A disturbed man does not need a logical reason to attack, he just needs to lose his reason and self-control. Giving an intelligible reason for Whitaker's character's actions, in addition to being redundant, is weakening the character and turning him into a villain that he is not. This really ruined the film for me.

The film has many violent and bloody scenes, including tortures and high tension situations. It's not a film to watch with your eighty-year-old grandmother or the children. However, the suspense works effectively, and the tension grows as the end approaches. The good design of the sets (in particular the dilapidated house) and the cinematography help a lot to create this hostile and sinister environment.

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.

This movie has gotten a lot of bad reviews and i have no idea why. The twist were at the right place and everyone says the acting was bad. Forrest Whitaker always KILLS everything he does and Anthony Mackie was PERFECT. People say Mike Epps is just a comedian but he was really good in this role. This movie actually had me confused and shocked at some point but i don't regret watching this at all. I really wish i would've went to the movie theatre to see this. I recommend this movie to anybody who loves movies that make you think and that don't just hand their ending out to you on a silver platter. My advice watch this on a rainy day, turn the lights off and pay attention. Hope this helps.

Solid although not usually exceptional acting from the cast carries this movie well enough, while the performance by Forest Whitaker is quite strong (but I tend to expect that from him). He carries off the role he is given well, and elicits a fair bit of understanding from the viewer even though the role he plays is a hard one to make people sympathize with. The story is solid, and the ending is decent even though it is less realistic and more moralistic in motive. I don't rate it highly, but I do give it a true medium rating and would recommend it to anyone who just wants a movie to watch that will not leave them cold.

"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-.