Exhibiting Forgiveness (2024)

‘Exhibiting Forgiveness’ seeks to ask one question, “What do you do when your parents are the source of your pain?”

‘Tarrell Rodin’(André Holland) is a successful painter who struggles with a dark past of patriarchal violence which tortures him in the form of physically wrenching nightmares. The kind of nightmares that bring on such anxiety that he stops breathing. He is frustrated with his fragmented memory which prohibits him from dealing with his tortured childhood.

For 15 years he has tried to paint away his pain but as time passes it no longer helps him process his trauma. All of this comes to bear when his father shows up while trying to move his mom out of her house. She insists ‘La Ron’(John Earl Jelks) has changed and ‘Tarrell’ should forgive him. As the title suggests, this is the theme of the movie. The push and pull of being compelled to forgive an abuser when you can’t forget the abuse.

TWO DADS. A portion of the movie follows ‘Tarrell’s’ father. In the opening scene he is depicted as homeless, wandering the streets cleaning people’s cars. When a store owner who is sympathetic to his situation is attacked, he unsuccessfully attempts to thwart the robbery. This chain of events lead him into the main plot.

He finds a place to live but with strict rules that include daily trips to church. He has an apparent spiritual awakening and makes his way back to ‘Joyce’(Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor), his ex-wife and ‘Tarrell's’ mother, seeking to reconcile. Tarrell is not having it. He refuses any attempts to reconcile with ‘La Ron’. His mother tries to appeal to him on Biblical grounds but he is adamant.

The juxtaposition of his two selves is subtle but significant. On the one hand there is the chaos and dysfunction as a son with Joyce and La Ron. Then there’s the warmth between him, his son Jermaine(Daniel Michael Barriere) and his wife ‘Aisha’(Andra Day). Apparently, she put her music career on hold so he could pursue his art career. As his career levels off, he reassures her this is her “time” and she begins to dive into her music.