DEAD MAN WALKING
JUST MERCY, CLEMENCY And The Death Penalty
Some films seek only to entertain. That’s not to say there is anything wrong with that, sometimes you need nothing more than an escape from your daily life by being transported into another world by movie magic. Other films however, take on powerful, and controversial topics, endeavoring either to make a statement or shed light on an under-known issue. Film, and the arts in general, have always been connected with a strive for social change and an increase in social consciousness. These two upcoming movies, Just Mercy and Clemency, take on the incredibly polarizing subject of the death penalty.
Just Mercy is based on the true story of civil rights defense attorney, Bryan Stevenson (Michael B. Jordan), who made history representing Walter McMillian, an African American man falsely convicted of murdering a white woman and sentenced to death. Just Mercy explores not only capital punishment, but false convictions and specifically racial injustice in the American South. McMillian was at an event where numerous witnesses (including a police officer) saw him and where 18-year-old Ronda Morrison was murdered. McMillian was nonetheless arrested for the crime and sent to death row. Sadly, gross miscarriages of justice like this still continue to occur, with a large percentage of these miscarriages being the cause of racial bias.
Just Mercy was directed by Destin Daniel Cretton from a script he co-wrote with Andrew Lanham. It is based on the novel Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption by Bryan Stevenson. In addition to Jordan, it stars Jamie Foxx as McMillian, Brie Larson, Rob Morgan, Tim Blake Nelson, Rafe Spall, and O’Shea Jackson Jr. Just Mercy premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival. It is scheduled to be theatrically released on December 25 by Warner Brothers.
Clemency, unlike Just Mercy, takes a look at this controversial subject through a work of fiction. Clemency follows Bernadine Williams (Alfre Woodard), a Death Row prison warden, whose job starts to take a toll on her emotional well-being and on her marriage. When she finds herself connecting with the next man she is sanctioned to execute, she has to confront the psychological and emotional damage her job has done to her, ultimately making her look at the death penalty itself.
Clemency was written and directed by Chinonye Chukwu. In addition to Woodard, it stars Richard Schiff, Danielle Brooks, Michael O’Neill, Richard Gunn, Wendell Pierce and Aldis Hodge. Clemency had its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival. It is scheduled to be theatrically released on December 27 by Neon.