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Clemency

Play trailer 1:51 Poster for Clemency R 2019 1h 53m Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
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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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Clemency

Clemency

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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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Critics Reviews

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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. Go to Full Review
Deborah Ross The Spectator 07/29/2020
A masterwork. Go to Full Review
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. Go to Full Review
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. Go to Full Review
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. Go to Full Review
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. Go to Full Review
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Audience Reviews

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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. See more Stephanie W 02/02/2020 Powerful. Simply heart-wrenching! The tears will flow watching this film. See more MARIA AMELIA A 01/29/2020 Very good movie about death penalty. A little bit slow See more John W 01/27/2020 Compelling story from two distinct perspectives. See more Robert 01/27/2020 Worth waiting the entire film to see her performance in the next-to-last scene See more Matt B 01/26/2020 Alfre Woodard is phenomenal. Movie is slow but not boring. Really depressing, but worth eventually catching up with See more Read all reviews
Clemency

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Movie Info

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)
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