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Clemency

Clemency

  • Status: Released
  • 27-12-2019
  • Runtime: 112 min
  • Score: 6.313
  • Vote count: 115

Years of carrying out death row executions have taken a toll on prison warden Bernadine Williams. As she prepares to execute another inmate, Bernadine must confront the psychological and emotional demons her job creates, ultimately connecting her to the man she is sanctioned to kill.

Alfre Woodard

Warden Bernadine Williams

Richard Schiff

Marty Lumetta

Aldis Hodge

Anthony Woods

Wendell Pierce

Jonathan Williams

Danielle Brooks

Evette Wilkinson

Michael O'Neill

Chaplain David Kendricks

Richard Gunn

Deputy Thomas Morgan

LaMonica Garrett

Major Logan Cartwright

Vernee Watson-Johnson

Mrs. Collins

Dennis Haskins

Mr. Collins

John Churchill

Officer Brooks

Alex Castillo

Victor Jimenez

Alma Martinez

Ms. Jiminez

Michelle Bonilla

Sonia

Jed Bernard

Death Watch Officer

William B. Simmons II

Evette's Son

Noshir Dalal

Paramedic

Debbie Pollack

Physician

Vivan Dugré

Broadcaster

Maurice Williams

Lonely Inmate

Harvey B. Jackson

Tie-Down Team Member

Dan Lawler

Dan the Bartender

Joe Ordaz

Second Shift Officer #1

Zedric Harris

Second Shift Officer #2

Andrew Somers

Protester

Melissa Harris

Protester

Ruth Banks Mataya

Protester

Stephanie Ugo

Protester

Shannon Burwell

Senior Staff Member (uncredited)

Anahi Bustillos

Lauren (uncredited)

Carlis Shane Clark

Maurice (Reporter #3) (uncredited)

Wayne Cole

Condemned Man (uncredited)

Justus Cooke

Inmate (uncredited)

R Scott Hoffman

Prison Guard (uncredited)

Camryn Howard

Marcus (uncredited)

Paul Mabon

Evette's Husband (uncredited)

Bex Marsh

Lisa (uncredited)

Brandon Garic Notch

Inmate (uncredited)

Teresa Tharp

Middle-Aged Woman (uncredited)

CinemaSerf

This features a really poignant and strong effort from Alfre Woodard as the warden of a prison charged with ensuring the execution of prisoners. She, "Bernadine" is finding it increasingly more difficult to reconcile the responsibilities of her job with her own conscience and her marriage. None of these demons are helped when one such "procedure" goes awry and, though not her fault, she finds herself under increased scrutiny as Aldis Hodge's "Woods" is soon to follow. The performance elements of this from Woodard and from Wendell Pierce as her loving but increasingly exasperated husband "Jonathan" work well, creating a really quite powerful vision of a woman torn between remaining objective - she is, after all, doing her job - and of a woman increasingly appreciative of the terminal nature of her task and of her own failings and religiosity. The remainder of the drama, last minute appeals etc., works less well and Richard Schiff really doesn't deliver much at all as the convicted man's attorney "Lumetta" - a man who seems to be trying to imbue hope in a man based on wishful thinking and some far-fetched technicalities. Auteur Chinonye Chukwu takes her time with this impassioned story and that's no bad thing at times, allowing us to become a little more immersed in the character of the troubled "Bernadine". At other times, though, the pace really does need a bit of a shake. The whole isn't as good as the sum of the parts, but it's still quite a thought-provoking look at just where responsibility lies in circumstances none of us would ever want to experience.