Clemency

"Clemency" is a magnificent film and I would not be surprised to see its star, Alfre Woodard was really, really good in the lead and I would expect to see her nominated for an Oscar for her performance. So why in the heck does the film currently have an overall score of 5.8?! What is the reason for this, as the movie is exceptionally well made. Perhaps people are voting against it for reasons other than the quality of the picture....that's the only thing that makes sense to me.

Woodard plays Warden Williams, a by the book woman who runs a prison where they perform executions. In both cases in the film, the lethal injection is done VERY realistically...so much so that it's a bit difficult to watch. But this is the reason....because the film is not just about the death penalty but how it impacts on the people who perform them. You see the Warden falling apart from the experiences, but you also see how the Chaplin and guards and the Deputy Warden are impacted as well. So, instead of just being an anti-capital punishment film, it's far, far deeper....making the story a difficult but rewarding experience.

Overall, a quality film in nearly every way and the reason I gave it a 9 instead of a 10 was one scene--where the overuse of the handycam (the 'unsteady cam') in one nauseating scene where the roving camera was unwelcome and didn't fit in with the rest of the otherwise well-filmed picture.

I seem to agree with most of the other reviews. The acting was first rate; however it was very slow and the ending left a LOT to be desired.

Outstanding performances, no question about that, but the long dragged out scenes, slow pacing, and 112 mins, made this film feel like it was never going to end. Add to that its depressing nature, you start begging for it to end. Many times I had to fast forward a scene where the character would just be staring into space forever. I get that it's supposed to build suspense, but it was just way to long, too many times, the silence became annoying. Cinematography was excellent, and the score on point. And the conceptual story was well put together, but the long screenplay flawed it. Had this film's pacing been faster, and many of the dragged out scenes edited/cut down, I would have enjoyed this much better. Sadly, it's only a 6/10 from me

A prison warden dealing with depression tries to hold on to life and sanity as she begins to empathize with a young man on death row.

A strong film, despite the slow pace, full of representation and many messages, a strong woman with character and systematics, firm hand and leadership with an iron fist, it is not difficult to choose between a peaceful retirement next to her husband or to continue in the job she loves and performs with mastery (I feel personally affected, as it is a difficult choice to make)... On the other hand, the fated and failed American death penalty, as unfair as it is punitive... Wonderful Alfre and Aldis ...

... by Alfre Woodward in a devastating film about inhumanity - presiding over death row executions takes its toll as she, the governor, witnesses first hand, the brutality of a world trying to be just and fair but failing badly.