André Holland Gives Expert Peformance Exhibiting Forgiveness

Growing up as a military kid and getting to know my Dad was challenging.  We weren’t always sent  on his assignments and it was only as an adult that I began to understand his emotional distance and tough exterior with empathy and love. So, when I learned that Oscar-shortlisted filmmaker and celebrated painter Titus Kaphar loosely based his story into a fresh cinematic language of paint and canvas to reconcile his own emotionally wrought experiences for “Exhibiting Forgiveness,” I knew this would be a must see for me at Sundance.

Utilizing his paintings to find freedom from his past, Tarrell (André Holland) is an artist on the path to success suddenly derailed by an unexpected visit from his estranged father La’Ron (John Earl Jelks) , a recovering addict desperate to reconcile. Together, they learn that forgetting might be a greater challenge than forgiving.

This soulful, sophisticated, and beautifully crafted debut  for feature debut for director Kaphar, blossoms a hard-to-tell story about destructive parenting, the seasons of angst weathered by an abused child becoming a successful human being, and the deep meaning and salve of creative practice.

At the  heart of “Exhibiting Forgiveness” is Tarell’s artistic process, which illuminates how a creative practice can redeem illnesses of the soul, forge pathways toward regaining power over one’s own destiny, and forgive and transform despite the spiritual damage.

Giving a master class in acting is a cast that never reveals a weak link.  With multiple memorable performances in films like “Moonlight,” “Selma,” “Passing” and on the small screen with “The Eddy,” Holland never disappoints.  The range of angst exhibited from a man emotionally torn is a feat to behold from Holland, Andra Day and the amazing Aunjanue Ellis.  This film is proof that the PTSD from childhood trauma can last a lifetime.  Working through the complications of those emotions can be daunting, but watching Tarrell work it out in real time was healing and fascinating to witness.  Especially during the one of the final images (which has become a signature of Kaphar’s paintings), where he literally cuts his  pain and image out of the lawnmower painting leaving his art and life with a clean slate.

“Exhibiting Forgiveness” is a gift, mostly because this film will leave you raw and exhilarated that in the pain of grief comes forgiveness on many levels.