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In writer-director Chinonye Chukwus filmClemency,Alfre Woodards face is a puzzle I want to solve.
The film opens and closes with the contours of her visage and the stories they tell.
Consider the moment when Jonathan explains, during their anniversary dinner, the sacrifices hes made for their marriage.
Shes beset by strange nightmares of being on the gurney in the execution room.
She prefers to spend her evenings on the couch watching late-night TV away from her husband.
I think you want to be whole.
Even if its not with me, I think you want to be whole.
Narratively, the political dimensions of the death penalty arent exactly what beguile audiences here.
How can she face the men she has a hand in killing?
How can she justify such barbaric vengeance and consider it justice?
Aldis Hodge gives a coiled performance as Anthony.
But there are punctures in his stoic facade.
Even with the fault lines between them, she tries to comfort him.
You, Anthony Woods, are loved.
But what kind of salve is remembrance when it comes to unjust death?
The crown jewel ofClemency, however, is undoubtedly Alfre Woodard.
Bernadine has a subtle arc that is undergirded by incessant questioning.
