Respond to these rapid questions in our Clemency quiz and we will tell you which Clemency character you are. Play it now.
“Please understand that I am invisible because people refuse to see me.”
It is mentioned during a seemingly inconsequential moment in Chinonye Chukwu’s sophomore feature film, “Clemency,” but the essence of this passage from Ralph Ellison’s 1952 novel Invisible Man reverberates throughout the film. Many films about wrongfully imprisoned men have been released in 2019, from Destin Daniel Cretton’s stirring fact-based drama “Just Mercy” to Terrence Malick’s poetic meditation on righteous sacrifice, “A Hidden Life,” but none have captured my attention quite like Chukwu’s masterwork. This film, which earned the Grand Jury Prize at Sundance and should have been nominated for an Academy Award, appears to have faded from voters’ memories, which is a shame because its leading lady, Alfre Woodard, is far more deserving of an Oscar nomination than the vast majority of nominees selected by the SAG and the Golden Globe organizations. As such, “Clemency” is an excellent pairing with Ava DuVernay’s equally heartbreaking Netflix miniseries about the Central Park Five, “When They See Us,” a title that alludes to Ellison’s aforementioned exploration of how our presumptions blind us to one another’s truth.
During the opening moments of Chukwu’s film, a barred security door framed in the foreground slams shut behind prison warden Bernadine (Woodard) as she walks to work down a corridor with diligence. There are numerous instances in the film where ace cinematographer Eric Branco makes Bernadine appear as incarcerated as the doomed men she counsels, and this is just one of many instances. Bernadine’s husband, Jonathan (Wendell Pierce), has labeled her a “empty shell” because of the growing distance between them. However, there is a sense that Bernadine has attempted to shield him from the demons that cause her to bolt upright in bed at night. Given that he is incapable of comprehending the endurance test she is subjected to at work, it stands to reason that Bernadine may have had an affair with her deputy warden, Thomas (Richard Gunn). The film deftly hints at this without ever explicitly stating it, instead relying on Woodard’s phenomenal ability to convey what cannot be articulated to convey what cannot be articulated. The way she tells Thomas, “I’m going to have dinner with Jonathan,” followed by a small smile and shrug, tells us everything we need to know about their characters’ previous history with one another.
But you shouldn’t waste any more time and start this Clemency quiz.
While it’s clear that Bernadine longs to reclaim her wholeness and return to the bliss she once shared with her husband, her reaction to his touch reveals that her soul remains imprisoned in the prison even when she’s not working. The woman tells Jonathan that she is “alone” and that “nobody can fix it.” She then turns on the television, choosing to block out the surrounding reality, which is ill-equipped to deal with her own. One trait she has in common with Anthony (Aldis Hodge, who recently played another innocent man wrongly accused in “Brian Banks”), a prisoner on death row who is perpetually perched on pins and needles while waiting for the governor to grant him mercy, a decision that could come as little as a few minutes before he is to be executed. In order to keep his sanity, Anthony embraces optimism at every turn, decorating the walls of his cell with paintings of birds that represent the freedom he believes is just around the corner, while evoking memories of classics such as “To Kill a Mockingbird” and “Birdman of Alcatraz.” Daniel (Danielle Brooks, in a stunning cameo) is hushed by his estranged ex, Evette (Danielle Brooks), who refuses to be silenced and explains that she isn’t sorry for keeping her distance in order to protect their son.
Clemency Quiz
However, she acknowledges that Anthony’s name will live on for generations despite her decision to live a life of “barely existing” (her own self-imposed imprisonment). Despite the fact that “Clemency” is a work of fiction, the story behind it was inspired by the 2011 execution of Troy Davis, a black man convicted of killing a police officer in Georgia, a charge that has been repeatedly disputed, considering that there is enough evidence to cast significant doubt on his alleged guilt. Davis’s story was based on the life of Troy Davis, who was convicted of killing a police officer in Georgia in 2011. The director, Chukwu, instead of following the formula of a procedural, finds artfully subtle ways of delivering information to the audience, such as when Anthony’s lawyer, Marty (Richard Schiff), can be heard over Bernadine’s car radio, listing the various flaws in the case against his client. When Bernadine isn’t hovering over the proceedings like the spectre of death, Anthony is treated as though he doesn’t want anything more than to be held in her hands for the majority of the film. In the face of Anthony’s inability to respond to unanswerable questions such as what food he’d like for his last meal or which family members would be willing to claim his body, she leaves him owl-eyed and completely speechless. However, it is only when he delivers his final statement—a haunting speech modeled after the transcript of Davis’ last words—that he makes an indirect reference to Bernadine by praying: “For those about to take my life, may God have mercy on your souls.”
Also, you will find out which character are you in this Clemency quiz.
As a result, we witness one of the most terrifying death scenes ever captured on film, and what makes it even more remarkable is that we are able to experience it solely through Bernadine’s facial expressions throughout. All anyone ever wants, as Marty tells Anthony during their final moments together, “is to be seen and heard,” and the throngs of protestors lining up daily to loudly condemn his client’s plight serve as undeniable proof that word of this injustice has spread throughout the world. As a prisoner forced to spend the majority of his days in silence and solitude, this is of little consolation, but when Anthony is strapped to a crucifix-like chair and given his lethal injection, it’s as if all of his pain and anguish is injected directly into Bernadine’s body. A breathtaking three-minute shot comparable to the finale of Céline Sciamma’s “Portrait of a Lady on Fire,” the camera stays fixed on Bernadine’s face as the primal horror of the procedure she has been supervising for years finally sinks in, breaking through her hardened exterior until he flatlines, prompting her own body to go limp as a result of the procedure. She finds herself at a loss for words for the first time, just as Anthony did during her clumsy attempts at social interaction. You can literally pinpoint the exact moment when her soul appears to have left her body by looking at her eyes. This is exceptional screen acting, and “Clemency” is a vital emotional powerhouse that is sorely underappreciated and deserving of being seen.
About the quiz
“Clemency” is currently streaming on Hulu and is available for purchase at a discount on a variety of digital platforms.Also, you must try to play this Clemency quiz.
For more personality quizzes check this: Die Hard Quiz.
