Tarrell (André Holland, Moonlight, Castle Rock, The Knick) is a painter who’s on the path to success. He just received a Critics’ Pick award for his latest art show, and his agent Janine (Jamie Ray Newman, The Big Cigar) is already eager to set up another one. His latest paintings are of scenes inspired by his childhood. But as he works on these, it starts to bring back some bad memories for Tarrell. He often finds himself waking up in the middle of the night, having panic attacks and struggling to breathe. Tarrell didn’t have a great relationship with his father, and is determined to do things differently with his own son, Jermaine (Daniel Berrier). Tarrell’s wife Aisha (Andra Day, The United States vs. Billie Holiday) is also artistically-inclined. She’s a musician working on her latest album.
Tarrell wants his mother, Mama Joyce (Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor, King Richard), to move in with them while he finds her a new place of her own closer by. And so the family takes what was supposed to be just a quick weekend trip to pick her up. However, when they arrive at Mama Joyce’s home, they discover that she hasn’t even started packing—there aren’t even any moving boxes. Mama Joyce says that she doesn’t want to leave her church and her friends, but she also has an ulterior motive and a secret. Tarrell hasn’t seen his father, La’Ron (John Earl Jelks, Chicago Med, New Amsterdam), in 15 years—ever since the day his mother finally kicked him out. La’Ron was an addict and abusive towards his family, justifying his actions as tough love, or trying to instill a strong work ethic in his son, like his father did to him.
Tarrell never had any intentions of his wife or son meeting La’Ron, until they went to his funeral. However, his estranged father has now returned, claiming to be a clean and changed man. Mama Joyce had already reconciled with her ex-husband, and had now invited him over in order to get her son to do the same. But Tarrell wants nothing to do with La’Ron. He doesn’t believe this man could ever change, and even if he did, it doesn’t erase what happened in the past. This encounter, and being back at his childhood home, causes the memories of Young Tarrell’s (Ian Foreman) terrible childhood to come flooding back. Aisha knows that if her husband doesn’t confront his past now, he’s just going to bring it back home with him, and so she also pushes for him to confront his father. And so Tarrell agrees to hear La’Ron out, while also using his art to work through the pain and emotions.
Exhibiting Forgiveness comes from first time writer/director, visual artist and 2018 MacArthur Award winner Titus Kaphar, and was inspired by his short documentary, “The Jerome Project”, about his estranged relationship with his own father. I originally saw this film in the theater as one of AMC’s “Screen Unseen” mystery movies, and I recall my thoughts at that time were that the film was relentlessly depressing. I hadn’t planned to re-watch or review the home video release, but since I was sent the digital copy for review, I decided to give it a second chance. Upon my re-watch, I wouldn’t say the film is depressing, but rather very emotionally draining. Not only is Tarrell dealing with the resurfacing anguish of his childhood, but there’s other things happening in the present that also pile onto his emotional stress. It seems like he just can’t get a break, and often just explodes in anger at the situation. He doesn’t like this side of himself, and doesn’t want to bring that home to his own son. As the film flashes back to Tarrell’s childhood, we see La’Ron’s “tough love” play out. La’Ron doesn’t really seem to care about his son. He’s just interested in pushing Tarrell to the limits to make money that he will selfishly use for alcohol and other pleasures, rather than for the good of the family. It’s easy to see why Tarrell resents this man, and why he’s not so eager to reconcile or forgive. At the same time, it does appear that La’Ron has changed, though whether or not he truly understands how much he hurt his son 15 years earlier is another question.
While this is not generally my type of film (I watch movies to help escape this kind of reality), I can see how it would appeal to others. The acting is great, with André Holland, John Earl Jelks and Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor all giving very strong performances. The viewer is taken on this cathartic, emotional ride. The movie itself is also quite visual, working in Kaphar’s artwork, and exploring his visual process though Tarrell’s painting. Whether it’s the large murals inspired by Tarrell’s childhood, or his paintings of his mother, the artwork is quite beautiful, while also conveying the pain of its artist. The way that Tarrell changes the murals over the course of the movie also helps to inform the character and story.
The film is currently only available on digital, and there hasn’t been a physical release announced. We were sent the 4K digital release via Fandango At Home, which looks and sounds great. The film has a very clean look that feels like it was composed by an artist. While the 4K release doesn’t make use of HDR, the colors still look rich and beautiful, and the level of detail is fantastic. This is especially noticeable in the brush strokes and texture of the canvases as Tarrell paints his murals.
The audio track also sounds excellent, providing a thoroughly-immersive ambiance, which is especially noticeable during exterior city shots, or in the busy art gallery. The film’s Bluesy score and emotional sundtrack—one of the songs is performed by Andra Day’s Aisha—also help set the tone, and are presented beautifully by the Dolby Digital audio track.
At this time, it doesn’t appear that there is any bonus material available on any digital platform, which is a shame, as this type of very personal movie begs for some sort of commentary track or interview with the writer/director.
What’s Included:
Specs may vary by provider. The following are based on Fandango At Home.
Film: (1:57:19)
- 2160p / Widescreen 2.00:1
- Audio: English 5.1 Dolby Digital Plus
- Subtitles: English
Extras:
-
No bonus material is included.
Final Thoughts:
Exhibiting Forgiveness won’t be for everyone. It can get very emotionally draining watching this artist re-live not only his troubled childhood but also face additional emotional turmoil in the present. However, the acting is very strong, and the film does an excellent job of integrating the writer/director’s artistic abilities and vision into the narrative, resulting in a very beautiful looking film. The 4K digital release features excellent picture and sound, but there are is no bonus material. Fans of the cast or artist, or those looking to go down a well of emotions will want to check this out.
Exhibiting Forgiveness
$14.99 (as of January 9, 2025 12:55 GMT -05:00 – More infoProduct prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on [relevant Amazon Site(s), as applicable] at the time of purchase will apply to the purchase of this product.)
