Alfre Woodard took Sundance by storm last January with her jaw-dropping performance in Chinonye Chukwu’s slow-burn thriller Clemency. Now, thanks to a pick-up by Neon, audiences are getting their first look at the festival favorite, and the reaction is strong.
Woodard plays Warden Bernadine Williams, the head of a prison and the one responsible for carrying out a heavy dose of death row executions. Over time the executions have taken a toll on the lonely warden, but none more so than Anthony Woods, the man she is next set to put to death.
Full of raw emotion and painful realization, Clemency embodies the conflict and moral questions that surround the death penalty - all told through the one who is forced to flip the switch.
The film’s first trailer embodies that intensity full-throttle, giving viewers a quick view of the pain and suffering that exists within such an act. Call it a strong stomach or a weak conscience, questions will be asked, and most not answered, as we navigate the harsh realities surrounding one of the most controversial acts known to humanity.
Clemency co-stars Aldis Hodge and Danielle Brooks and hits theaters on December 27.
