You took the past. And man I forgive you. I understand. Life didn’t give you a lot of choices. But the future… that’s mine.

As someone who is very familiar with the complexities of forgiving a parent I’ve grown really sick of movies with sugarcoated images of forgiveness, that often treat it as being synonymous with reconciliation. Forgiveness is messy and unsatisfying. There’s often a stubbornness that precedes it, especially with parents, a refusal to acknowledge what they themselves have been through and why they hurt you. This acceptance or even understanding might seem like it excuses their behavior, but it’s revelatory to realize that it’s what allows you to forgive and unburden yourself from resentment. Exhibiting Forgiveness understands this…

Sundance 2024
I was really taken aback by the performances in this—André Holland in particular. He stars as an artist that harbors resentment towards his father because of his treatment as an adolescent and treatment of his mother. [full Review] But as circumstances bring his father back into his life, he’s challenged with finding forgiveness in his heart now that his mother (Aujanue Ellis-Taylor) has accepted him back into her life. This easily could have veered into melodrama, but the performances here are all perfectly measured. Forgiving family members (parents in particular) is incredibly hard. Add in that when you have children of your own and you realize there are zero scenarios where you would ever hurt your own child, and…

Father Time by Kendrick Lamar the movie. 

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“Relationships are hard”

Exhibiting Forgiveness is a movie that fits thematically with Mr. Morale and The Big Steppers. It is a film about breaking the chains of generational trauma, poverty, drug abuse, daddy issues, religion, death, art, and forgiveness. It’s a very personal and autobiographical film that is easy for many to connect with as trauma, and dysfunctional family dynamics are almost universal. 

The film is cathartic, gorgeous, and beautiful. It is about giving future generations a life that was not given to you and that you have not experienced or seen. I was brought to tears thinking about the pain that drugs and addiction have left on my family and cannot…

I've been a fan of André Holland since first seeing him in "The Knick". In fact he was the reason I kept watching. I was fascinated by his portrayal of a doctor at the turn of the twentieth century. Then came "Moonlight" which certified his bonafides as one of the best actors working. Unfortunately other than "High Flying Bird" he hasn't had a lot of leading film roles. So when I saw he was the lead in this tale of addiction ruining a father-son relationship, I was pretty excited to see it.

John Earl Jelks plays the father. I wasn't familiar with him. He's fantastic as a man whose life was robbed by his addiction to crack-cocaine. Not that he's…