‘Exhibiting Forgiveness’ explores Black trauma

The new film “Exhibiting Forgiveness” is a blunt and painful look at generational trauma that can lead to many emotions. Anger, the blame game and unforgiveness are all part of that fabric. Detached compassion is also cut from the same cloth.

There is plenty of that in “Exhibiting Forgiveness.” The film, which opened Oct. 18, hits the nail on top of the button when it comes to addressing how abuse and trauma can go on for generations before it is properly dealt with, if at all.   

The gist of the storyline in “Exhibiting Forgiveness” is simple. But the film’s message is so powerful that it overtakes its simplicity. In layman’s terms, this is why the movie is highly recommended. 

The film is so good that even Rotten Tomatoes gave it a 93 out of 100 rating and could be in line to be readily acknowledged during awards season. 

Actor Andre Holland is the star of the nearly two-hour movie that demands your attention from the beginning. Holland plays Tarrell, a successful artist fighting off nightly demons that cause him and his wife, Aisha (Andra Day) to have plenty of sleepless nights. 

Tarrell’s sleepless episodes get so bad that Aisha pushes her husband to get therapy to help him get clarity on the bursts of anger and violent sleeping patterns.

Tarrell initially dismisses the suggestion to see a shrink but as the nightly wrestling matches continue, he begins to see that this problem is bigger than his feelings getting hurt. 

With so much attention now being paid to mental health,” Exhibiting Forgiveness”  gives audiences a blueprint of one of the ways the disease can wreck families and destroy lives. 

In the case of Tarrell, while he shows his gifted side of being a successful artist, he is a man full of rage. And he doesn’t quite know how to address it. As Tarrell’s partner, Aisha tries to steer a sense of quiet into her husband’s recurring storms. 

Tarrell needs more than anger management counseling. He needs to heal from whatever that has caused him the anguish that nearly consumes him. And it shows, especially with the re-emergence of his father, La’Ron (John Earl Jelks) trying to come back into his life. 

La’Ron is a former crackhead trying to redirect his steps in the right direction after leading a downtrodden life of drug abuse, incarceration and homelessness. Because La’Ron bailed out on him and his mother, Joyce (Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor), Tarrell has no use for his dad to interject himself back into his life.

Not only does Tarrell resent La’Ron for going MIA when he was a kid, but he treats his dad with such disdain that there seems to be no hope for a happy reunion. 

And there is none. “Exhibiting Forgiveness” does not take the easy way out with a fairy-tale ending. Human beings are complicated, and so are relationships. Joyce has forgiven La’Ron for his misdeeds. She wants Tarrell to do the same with hopes it will bring her son some peace. 

As the story unfolds, Tarrell learns that La’Ron was forced to live under the roof of a demanding father a lot like he did. As he goes through this war within himself of forgiving his father, Tarrell projects his personal life drama into art with his paintings. 

It is a minor escape from the reality he must deal with. Joyce helps re-kindle the idea of the father and son overcoming their estranged relationship with her parental needling. When tragedy strikes, Tarrell and La’Ron are forced to put down their egos and try to understand one another. 

The meeting of the minds between the two men shows the complexity of family dynamics and how we all yearn for the over-the-rainbow conclusion. Repairing generational trauma is a step-by-step process. It simply takes time to heal from.