Clemency

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1:51

Clemency

R

2019

1h 53m

Drama

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

92%

Tomatometer

154 Reviews

65%

Popcornmeter

50+ Verified Ratings

Years of carrying out death row executions are taking a toll on Warden Bernadine Williams. As she prepares for another one, Williams must confront the psychological and emotional demons that her job creates.

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Critics Consensus

Clemency mines serious social issues for gripping drama, brought to life by an outstanding cast led by Alfre Woodard.

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Clarisse Loughrey

Independent (UK)

12/09/2020

4/5

Clemency is proof of just how effortlessly [Woodard] can lead a film.

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Deborah Ross

The Spectator

07/29/2020

A masterwork.

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Donald Clarke

Irish Times

07/20/2020

4/5

Woodard, unshowy and preternaturally still, offers us a stubborn professional being steadily eaten up by her involvement with the glacially slow killing-machine.

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Dave Giannini

InSession Film

02/20/2024

B+

Chukwu and Woodard together certainly do not tell an easily digestible story, but they do tell an absolutely necessary story of our humanity, pressed to its limits.

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Greg Carlson

Vague Visages

09/23/2023

Chukwu avoids any overt didacticism in her storytelling, even if the mounting pressure on the beleaguered protagonist is delivered with quiet resolve and suffocating dread.

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Dallas King

Outtake Mag

11/12/2022

4/5

Alfre Woodard stuns in the harrowing and affecting death row drama... her performance is a masterclass in quietly conveying the slow, steady grounding down of Bernadine’s humanity.

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Angela

02/03/2020

I thought it was different and engaging. It was interesting to watch a movie depicted from the viewpoint of the Prison Warden.

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Stephanie W

02/02/2020

Powerful. Simply heart-wrenching! The tears will flow watching this film.

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MARIA AMELIA A

01/29/2020

Very good movie about death penalty. A little bit slow

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John W

01/27/2020

Compelling story from two distinct perspectives.

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Robert

01/27/2020

Worth waiting the entire film to see her performance in the next-to-last scene

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Matt B

01/26/2020

Alfre Woodard is phenomenal. Movie is slow but not boring. Really depressing, but worth eventually catching up with

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Chinonye Chukwu

Director

Alfre Woodard

Warden Bernadine Williams

Aldis Hodge

Anthony Woods

Richard Schiff

Marty Lumetta

Wendell Pierce

Jonathan Williams

Richard Gunn

Deputy Warden Thomas Morgan

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Clemency: Trailer 1

1:51

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Synopsis

Years of carrying out death row executions are taking a toll on Warden Bernadine Williams. As she prepares for another one, Williams must confront the psychological and emotional demons that her job creates.

Director: Chinonye Chukwu
Producer: Bronwyn Cornelius, Julian Cautherley, Timur Bekbosunov, Peter Wong
Screenwriter: Chinonye Chukwu
Distributor: Neon
Production Co: Big Indie Pictures, Ace Pictures
Rating: R (Some Disturbing Material|Language)
Genre: Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Dec 27, 2019, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Dec 27, 2019
Box Office (Gross USA): $361.7K
Runtime: 1h 53m
Aspect Ratio: Scope (2.35:1)