‘Exhibiting Forgiveness’ showcases the healing power of letting go

“Exhibiting Forgiveness” (2024). Cast: André Holland, John Earl Jelks, Andra Day, Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor, Daniel Berrier, Ian Foreman, Matthew Elam, Jamie Ray Newman, G.L. McQueary, Tia Dionne Hodge, Chip Carriere, Justin Hofstad. Director: Titus Kaphar. Screenplay: Titus Kaphar. Artwork: Titus Kaphar. Web site. Trailer. Paintings.
Tarrell Rodin (André Holland) has established quite a name for himself as a painter. His works have garnered considerable attention within the arts community, as well as among collectors. He’s become particularly noteworthy for his distinctive style depicting scenes from the everyday lives of urban African-American youth. While most of his paintings portray seemingly ordinary elements of daily life, nearly all of them are augmented with novel artistic twists that add a layer of depth, insight and distinction to their subject matter, elevating their impact in telling stories and taking on a life of their own.
Tarrell’s success has afforded him and his family a comfortable life. He and his wife, Aisha (Andra Day), live with their young son, Jermaine (Daniel Berrier), in a beautiful home with a spacious studio. Their affluence has also enabled Aisha to work on developing a promising musical career, though she has patiently deferred her efforts somewhat to give Tarrell the time and space needed to allow his rising star to continue to soar through a series of successful gallery shows (much to the delight of his agent, Janine (Jamie Ray Newman)).

However, while Tarrell’s devotees have generally sat back and admired the sheer beauty of his work, there’s something about his paintings about which most fans and followers are unaware: Nearly all of these creations have been inspired by events from his own childhood. And, when one examines these works closely, it becomes apparent that many of them depict incidents that are quietly troubling. Nevertheless, Tarrell has kept mum about their underlying nature. But why? While Tarrell’s reasons for this would appear to be his own (some of which he might not even be fully aware of himself), circumstances are about to arise that bring all of this to light. And it all begins with a visit to his aging mother, Joyce (Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor).
For some time, Tarrell has been encouraging Joyce to move in with him and his family, a prospect about which she has been dragging her feet. While paying her a visit to help her get ready for the move, Tarrell discovers she’s done little to prepare for it. And, when he sits down with her to discuss it, he finds out why: It seems she’s got a commitment to keep her in her current home, one that infuriates Tarrell when he finds out.
In recent months, Joyce has been helping her ex-husband (and Tarrell’s estranged father), La’Ron (John Earl Jelks), in getting his life back on track. As a recovering drug addict who failed at several previous rehab attempts, La’Ron has recently been living with a pastor, Chaplain George (Chip Carriere), who has been counseling him on getting clean. Joyce’s support has played an integral role in that process, especially in matters of forgiveness. And, in explaining her reason for staying put for the time being, Joyce encourages Tarrell to now become part of that process, too.
Tarrell is initially incensed at Joyce’s suggestion. He has never forgiven La’Ron for abandoning him and his mother years before. But La’Ron’s departure is only part of the story – before deserting Joyce and Tarrell’s younger self (Ian Foreman), La”Ron committed a litany of transgressions, including physical and verbal abuse, financial swindling, rampant drug use, and a host of other offenses, leaving mother and son to fend for themselves. In Tarrell’s mind, there’s just too much bad blood between him and his father to ever reconcile. However, at the same time, he can’t ignore these developments either, forcing him to face what he has long been loath to do.

Through a series of interactive flashbacks, Tarrell relives the anguish he experienced in his youth. And, as these past incidents are depicted here, viewers come to see how those events would eventually be re-created in his paintings, almost constituting a de facto form of art therapy. In fact, the paintings and the incidents that inspired them essentially become characters in themselves in Tarrell’s story, coming to life and acting like catalysts to nudge him into addressing the pain that he has steadfastly refused to examine. With La’Ron now back in his life, backed by Joyce’s less-than-subtle arm-twisting, Tarrell has an opportunity to confront these long-buried issues.
But will Tarrell avail himself of this opportunity? Can he bring himself to forgive his father for his past misdeeds? And what will come of it for him emotionally, psychologically and artistically? That remains to be seen, of course, but there’s much at stake here on many fronts. There’s potentially much to be lost. But there’s also a lot to be gained.
Whether or not Tarrell avails himself of this opportunity – and the outcome associated with it – will ultimately depend on his beliefs, for they fundamentally shape how his existence unfolds, thanks to the conscious creation process, the philosophy that makes this possible. It’s unclear whether Tarrell has ever heard of this school of thought, though, considering how events in his life have gone recently, it has played a role in bringing important but unaddressed issues front and center for him to contemplate and act upon. It’s not something he can willfully ignore, either, given that this scenario is one that innately calls for his direct involvement and input. He can confront it head on, or he can choose to cling to his contempt for his dad. And, even if he chooses to do nothing, that’s a deliberate decision on his part, too, one born out of his beliefs about how to respond to this issue. No matter what he decides, however, the beliefs he opts to embrace will determine how his reality manifests.
Given how Tarrell has handled this situation over the years, he’s chosen to keep La’Ron at arm’s length, and he’s been mostly content with that decision. However, something has changed recently, as evidenced by the subject matter that has started to show up in his paintings. And, even though those works may have provided him with some measure of healing, they haven’t solved the issue completely. This is apparent in several ways. For instance, at the film’s outset, his attitude is somewhat inexplicably restless, an outlook that seems to show up in such areas as his dreams, which would appear to be troubling him somewhat. Likewise, he’s been experiencing unsettling physical symptoms, conditions that have given Aisha pause for concern.

From these developments, something is clearly struggling to emerge from Tarrell’s consciousness, no doubt based on unrecognized internal beliefs that have been fighting to surface. His paintings, his psychological state and even his physical condition have all been providing clues, collectively serving as a sort of prelude to what’s to come. And, when the big revelation of his dad’s reappearance finally occurs, the groundwork has been laid to prepare him for what’s to follow. In essence, these indicators have given him a chance to ready himself for the challenge at hand.
At this point, his beliefs are about to transit from the realm of the unconscious into the domain of the conscious, and it’s up to him to decide what shape they’ll take. Prior to this point, he’s steadfastly chosen to take no action where La’Ron is concerned, and, considering how stubbornly those notions have persisted, they’re likely to be difficult to change. But therein lies one of the beauties about our beliefs – they’re capable of being altered to make anything possible, and that’s an option open to Tarrell if he chooses to embrace it. Doing so may not be easy, but changing his mind by changing his beliefs is not unfathomable.
To make this happen, though, Tarrell must be able to envision such a possibility in the first place. And, to that end, he has several factors in his favor when it comes to rewriting his beliefs. To begin with, he’s an artist, which means that he has a natural creative inclination, a quality that’s crucial to imagining and manifesting outcomes that might readily defy convention. Then there are the paintings he has been creating of late, works that have helped him prepare for the eventuality that has now arrived. Further support comes from Joyce and Aisha, both of whom love and care for Tarrell and want to see him be able to forgive as a means to heal his past hurts. And then there’s La’Ron, who genuinely appears to want to make up for his many faults. Collectively, these elements provide Tarrell with the means to at least consider changing his beliefs and thereby yielding a new direction for himself and, possibly, his relationship with his father.

Tarrell has wherewithal all his own to effect change, too. In the course of deliberating what to do, for instance, he encounters situations in which the subjects of his paintings ironically appear to come to life in everyday existence. Whether their presence is literal, metaphorical or surrealistic is, in the end, irrelevant; what matters, though, is the impact they have on him and his psyche when it comes to assessing his circumstances and the beliefs he wants to embrace about them as he moves forward. These conditions thus provide him with the means to mull over his beliefs as he formulates a plan of action.
However, at the same time, one cannot ignore the potential downsides that come from failing to act. This becomes apparent in the strain brought about by Tarrell’s intransigence toward La’Ron and how it, in turn, affects his relationships with himself and with others around him. While these bystanders can certainly appreciate the considerable hurt he underwent, they’re also nevertheless aware of the collateral effects that it carries, not only on him, but also on them, most notably Joyce, Aisha, Jermaine and, unwittingly, even some of the collectors of his paintings. In scenarios like this, it’s one thing to allow such circumstances to continue to impact ourselves, but it’s something else entirely to allow them to extend beyond us and affect others, whether intentionally or not.
Nonetheless, as Tarrell assesses all of these notions and puts them into place, he may well be in store for some unanticipated (and unexpectedly pleasant) surprises. While he might able to successfully envision some of the outcomes that await him, there may be more looming in the wings than he can possibly imagine, at least at the outset. In reaching this point, for example, he’s already experienced a tremendous creative breakthrough, but, by continuing to carry forward with this process, these developments may be only the tip of a much larger and far more significant iceberg, one that might impact him tremendously both personally and professionally. Such a result may not be apparent to Tarrell (or any of us, for that matter) when we embark on the process of forgiveness. But engaging in it might ultimately unlock doors that could easily and handily exceed our expectations, and all it might take to make this possible is a shift in our beliefs. That’s quite a bargain if you ask me.

No matter what anyone might say, and regardless of how virtuous its intent and impact may be, extending forgiveness to another is nevertheless often difficult. Yet, despite the pain, resentment and disappointment that can get in the way, a change in attitude and the beliefs that underlie it can work wonders. That’s what writer-director Titus Kaphar’s debut feature seeks to impart, a story drawn in part from his own experience and featuring paintings created by the filmmaker himself. Through this story, the act of forgiveness is explored from myriad angles, unflinchingly depicting the difficulty involved in achieving it and the rewards that can come from it. This is all effectively brought to life through an artistically beautiful, gorgeously photographed production, backed by an emotive and engaging soundtrack. Admittedly, the pacing could use a little shoring up in spots, and the emotional depth that seemingly should have infused the writing for certain scenes doesn’t quite reach the peak that it could have, but those drawbacks are well camouflaged by the fine performances of the ensemble, especially Holland and Ellis-Taylor, who deliver some of the best work of their careers. Most importantly, though, “Exhibiting Forgiveness” is definitely a movie with a powerful message, and it makes no effort to conceal it. It drives home its point with forcefulness and clarity, as well as fearless, unapologetic candor, successfully avoiding the pitfall of sugarcoating, soft peddling or sanitizing how challenging a process extending forgiveness can be. We could all learn a lot from that – and, considering the state of affairs in our world these days, it would behoove us if we did. This 2024 Sundance Film Festival Grand Jury Prize nominee for drama is available for streaming online.
It can be hard to let go of the pain when we feel we’ve been wronged by someone, particularly repeatedly. Some would contend that we’re justified in holding on to such feelings, an argument that some would say has genuine merit. But there’s a big difference between setting healthy boundaries and erecting an impenetrable wall, and forgiveness can play a valuable role in mediating how we perceive that distinction. To accomplish that, though, we must often get out of our own way, especially where our beliefs about forgiveness are concerned. That can take some doing, as well as some deliberate, profound soul-searching. In the end, though, the effort can be worth it, both for those who caused us pain – and those of us who have had to endure it.
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