Clemency

2019 1h 52m EN

😐

6.3

MID

★6.3TMDB · 123

Drama

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

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.

“Some stories are better left unspoiled.”

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Cast

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

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Chinonye Chukwu
Writers: Chinonye Chukwu
Languages: English
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 6

ERA

Did you know

Released 7 years ago.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 6

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Chinonye Chukwu, shot by Eric Branco. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 6

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Kathryn Bostic. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 6

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Phyllis Housen shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 6

CAST

Did you know

Alfre Woodard and Richard Schiff and Aldis Hodge carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 6

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt5577494 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Chinonye Chukwu directs. Eric Branco behind the camera. Kathryn Bostic scores. Phyllis Housen cuts. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Released 7 years ago.
2Directed by Chinonye Chukwu, shot by Eric Branco. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
3Original score by Kathryn Bostic. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
4Editor Phyllis Housen shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
5Alfre Woodard and Richard Schiff and Aldis Hodge carry the top of the cast.
6IMDB entry: tt5577494 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

The technical file

Cinematography: Eric Branco
Original score: Kathryn Bostic
Editing: Phyllis Housen
Production design: Margaux Rust
Costume design: Suzanne Barnes
Makeup / hair: Judy Staats
Sound: Raymond Park
Stunt coordinator: Lou Simon
Runtime: 112 min · 1h 52m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Box office: $309,776
Original language: EN
Certification (US): R
IMDB: Clemency (2019)

Awards

Sundance Film Festival U.S. Dramatic Grand Jury Prize Award

Individual records documented via Wikidata; the summary above may count more.

Also by

Chinonye Chukwu

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Trailers & featurettes

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Community reviews

What people are saying

CinemaSerf2024-02-06
★ 7/10
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.
badelf2026-05-01
★ 4/10
The actors do a fantastic job with this script. But here's my problem: A black woman (2 strikes against her) in a warden position in a (most likely) for-profit, corporation-owned prison, in a back-assward state that murders clearly innocent black people, and she has empathy? This is far-fetched fantasy that is so unbelievable as to be cartoonish. Just to be clear, most of the for-profit prisons in the USA are in right-wing states (except maybe Colorado). The odds of these corporations hiring a woman, or black person, or both as warden would have be pretty damn slim.