Exhibiting Forgiveness

Tarrell, a painter, has a loving relationship with his wife Aisha, young son Jermaine, and mother Joyce. When Tarrell's father La'Ron re-enters his life, Tarrell is upset and bitter about their strained relationship. Flashbacks reveal La'Ron's stern and abusive behavior towards Tarrell and Joyce. La'Ron has a newfound identity as a Christian, and Joyce (who's already a devout Christian) urges Tarrell to forgive his father, citing a portion from the New Testament. Shortly after, Joyce dies. Later, La'Ron shows up at a gallery showing of Tarrell's art. Tarrell and La'Ron argue, and La'Ron urges forgiveness. Tarrell yields and forgives his father, but insists that they will have no future together. Later, Tarrell tells his son that he loves him.

• André Holland as Tarrell
• Andra Day as Aisha
• Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor as Joyce
• John Earl Jelks as La'Ron
• Ian Foreman as Young Tarrell
• Daniel Michael Barriere as Jermaine
• Matthew Elam as Quentin
• Jaime Ray Newman as Janine

The film premiered in the U.S. Dramatic Competition at the Sundance Film Festival on January 20, 2024.^[2] In April 2024, Roadside Attractions acquired distribution rights to the film, planning to release it theatrically sometime in fall the same year.^[3] The film began a limited theatrical run in the United States on October 18, 2024.^[4]

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 95% of 74 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 8.2/10. The website's consensus reads: "André Holland lays himself bare in a characteristically wonderful performance in this vivid portrait of a family coming to terms with the past."^[5] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 82 out of 100, based on 17 critics, indicating "universal acclaim".^[6]

The Guardian critic Benjamin Lee described the film as an "emotionally wrenching drama set to resonate with those who have also had to confront the complicated equation of radical forgiveness".^[7] Owen Gleiberman of Variety wrote, "Exhibiting Forgiveness sends you out on a note of hope, but it’s not exactly a feel-good movie. It’s a feel-the-reality movie, a drama willing to scald. That’s its quiet power".^[8]