The history of painters who pivot to filmmaking offers a mixed bag of results, from Andy Warhol and Julian Schnabel successfully embracing the medium while the likes of Robert Longo and David Salle abandoned that practice after one feature each. Acclaimed artist Titus Kaphar enters the cinematic arena with Exhibiting Forgiveness, and while the film reflects his keen eye for color and composition, the fairly pedestrian screenplay suggests that, for now, he’s a much stronger director than writer.
That’s less of an issue than it might have been, given that Kaphar and casting director Kim Coleman have assembled an ensemble of powerhouse performers who breathe life into the characters and their dialogue that goes far beyond what’s on the page. The combined impact of these extraordinary actors and Kaphar’s visual acuity — reflected both in the paintings he created for the film and in delicate craftsmanship of Lachlan Milne’s (Minari) cinematography — make Exhibiting Forgiveness work as well as it does.
Artist Tarrell (André Holland) channels his life and memories into his paintings, but even that act of reflection isn’t enough to keep him from suffering nightmares and panic attacks in his sleep, much to the consternation of his musician wife Aisha (Andra Day). The couple returns to Tarrell’s childhood neighborhood to help his mother Joyce (Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor) move; it’s clear that she’s happy where she is, and the move is mostly Tarrell’s attempt to take her away from the source of his youthful trauma.
Joyce ambushes Tarrell with the sudden appearance of his long-absent father La’Ron (John Earl Jelks, Chicago Med), a recovering crack user who has been in recovery and has made amends with the devout Joyce. Tarrell isn’t quite so forgiving; he begins to interview La’Ron about his past, and the conversation turns violent within a few minutes. Tarrell’s younger self (played by Ian Foreman, I Saw the TV Glow) comes into play as well: when Tarrell stands in front of his childhood home, young Tarrell wheels in one of his canvases, obscuring the real house with a painting of it, reflecting how Tarrell has transformed the pain of the past into the art of the present. There’s also an extended flashback reflecting why Tarrell finds it so difficult to forgive La’Ron all these years later.
Kaphar created 15 new paintings for the film, many of them featuring the actors in character, and they reveal Tarrell’s complex inner life with greater acuity and subtlety than the constantly on-the-nose dialogue. It’s a film in which every character says exactly what’s on their mind and in their heart at every turn; with one notable exception, no one here can keep a secret, which leads to one bluntly straightforward exchange after another.
But if anyone’s going to make the heavy prose soar, it’s these performers, none of whom are capable of even a moment of artificiality. Holland finds several notes of rage to play over the course of the movie, and thankfully he gets some tender moments with Day and Ellis-Taylor to reflect the character’s softer side. (He also has some lovely scenes with young Daniel Berrier, as Terrell and Aisha’s son Jermaine.) Aisha herself isn’t given a lot to do, but Day makes a meal out of a musical-improvisation scene in which she’s working out a new song with Terrell, and Ellis-Taylor elevates what could have easily been a two-dimensional, long-suffering mom. Stage veteran Jelks brings a genuine feeling of pain to La’Ron, not only in his current iteration but also in the flashbacks to the character’s abusiveness.
For a first feature, Exhibiting Forgiveness offers much to admire, and if Kaphar’s text can reach the level of his images, he has a potentially impressive career ahead as a filmmaker.
Director: Titus Kaphar
Screenwriter: Titus Kaphar
Cast: André Holland, John Earl Jelks, Andra Day, Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor, Daniel Berrier, Ian Foreman, Matthew Elam.
Producers: Stephanie Allain, Derek Cianfrance, Jamie Patricof, Sean Cotton, Titus Kaphar
Executive producers: Stephanie Blackwood, Claire Brooks, Kim Coleman, Andrew Mann
Director of photography: Lachlane Milne
Production design: Olivia Peebles
Costume design: Deidra Elizabeth Govan
Editing: Ron Patane
Music: Jherek Bischoff
Sound design: Ron Bochar, re-recording mixer/sound designer
Production companies: Roadside Attractions, Homegrown Pictures, Shade Pictures, Hunting Lane Films, DIGM Entertainment, Revolution Ready
In English
117 minutes
