Shirley (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.