Exhibiting Forgiveness

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.

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.

Watched this at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival.

Titus Kaphar creates a strong emotional drama with strong themes, writing, and a wonderful performance from Andre Holland. Holland's performance was amazing as his performance created an good essence and personality to his character which felt purposeful and insightful. Including the rest of the performances from the other cast members. Kaphar's direction and writing provides interesting themes of forgiveness, estranged family relationship, art, generational trauma, and healing from the Black community and each of the themes were handled gracefully and were well-executed.

Many of the dialogue moments were strong as each dialogue from the characters felt real and raw. I really connected with Holland's character as I felt emotionally invested and pretty bad for him throughout. Having known peers who have similar lives to Holland's character, made the movie more powerful and compelling. Forgiveness can be messy and Kaphar perfectly demonstrates how tough, messy and emotional forgiveness can be.

The production designs, camerawork, and the soundtrack choices are wonderful. The pacing does have some slow moments but it didn't ruin the experience. Overall, strong debut from Titus Kaphar and I look forward to see what Kaphar has next.

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!

In his feature film directorial and screenwriting debut, artist Titus Kaphar has confidently created a semi-autobiographical work that deserves a wider audience than it has received. This powerful, unsentimental 2024 film tenderly explores a familiar movie trope, a father-son estrangement, but through an unflinching lens of toxic masculinity, familial rage, and generational trauma. A stellar quartet of accomplished actors fully embodies the often painful story of Tarrell, a burgeoning artist whose father La'Ron, a recovering crack addict, re-enters his life at the behest of his endearing, religious mother Mama Joyce. While Tarrell pushes Joyce to pack her house and move closer to his own family of three, she remains steadfast in realizing a reconciliation that proves devastating for all involved. Still memorable as Kevin in "Moonlight", Andre Holland is riveting as Tarrell as he manages to convey fierce resentment and anger with palpable currents of loss and exhaustion. John Earl Jelks maintains potent gravitas as La'Ron desperate to be forgiven for his past sins, and Andra Day plays Tarrell's musician wife Aisha with economic precision. It's no surprise to me that Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor ("Nickel Boys") handily dominates the film with her gut wrenching performance as Mama Joyce. Special mention should be given to Ian Foreman's heartbreaking turn as young Tarrell in the painful flashback scenes. There are a few flaws. While the details of past traumas are unpeeled effectively, they add marginally less to the story as they function more as reference points. Also, some of Kaphar's dialogue is too on-the-nose to be fully resonant. Regardless, the commitment of the superb cast takes this film to the next level.