In the opening minutes of “Clemency,” warden Bernadine Williams, played by Alfre Woodard, oversees a botched execution. Psychological trauma follows her in the aftermath of the event: Williams struggles with her mental health and marriage as she faces another execution.
The opening sequence of the botched execution is intimate and upsetting to watch. The medical staff fails repeatedly to find a vein for the lethal injection against the backdrop of the inmate’s cries of fear and the ringing of the heart rate monitor fluctuating with each new injection site effort. After locating a suitable vein and starting the injection, the inmate seizes and bleeds out through the injection site in front of the horrified eyes of family in another room.
Following the disastrous execution, the prison and Williams prepare for the high-profile execution of Anthony Woods, played by Aldis Hodge. Woods claims to be innocent. He has vocal supporters and a lawyer, played by Richard Schiff, seeking clemency from the governor to stop his execution. As Williams moves forward, she is haunted by the previous inmate’s death through nightmares that question her morality.
Woodard does fantastic work as Warden Williams, a woman suffering from trauma and the heavy burden of her job. The toll of supervising executions and being the villain in people’s lives is vividly depicted through William’s performance of mental exhaustion. Her marriage suffers, too, from her commitment to a job that leaves her a shell of who she used to be. Her husband, played by Wendell Pierce, misses having a wife that’s present and happy.
Woodard has a strong supporting cast. Aldis Hodge is excellent as a man facing death for a crime he did not commit, going through stages of denial, grief, anger and loneliness. He showcases a man desperate to hope as everything goes against him. Many characters in the film, like Schiff’s role as the lawyer, illustrate a bleak tone that permeates the film, of hopelessness and defeat.
Considering the despondency of the film and the small story with only a handful of locations over a short span of time, the film seems overlong. Coming in at nearly two hours, “Clemency” can take a toll on viewers, especially with the botched execution scene. A side plot in particular, about an estranged lover of Woods and her visit with him, feels tacked-on. While the lover is played brilliantly by Danielle Brooks, well-known for her role in “Orange is the New Black,” the addition of her plotline was of no real consequence in the film.
In terms of narrative, the film comes full circle as the final moments lead to the execution that may or may not take place. The same can not be said of the characters, as Williams experiences personal growth and change that juxtaposes the beginning of the film. “Clemency” is bleak and overlong, yet intimately looks into the life and personal ramifications for a death row prison warden and delivers strong performances and a solid story.
