Repentance (2014)

Absolutely the worst movie.

what a terribly boring film. I'm sorry but this is absolutely not deserving of best picture and will be forgotten quickly. Entertaining and engaging cinema? No. Nothing performances with flat faces and mistaking silence for subtlety.

A great movie, one of the best of this year. There was a bit of confusion at one point in the plot, but nothing serious.

The thing I enjoyed most about the film is the fact that it doesn't shy away from being a super-sized-cliche;

Forrest Whitaker is one of the most talented actors I have seen within the last few decades. I would put him on the same level with Sidney Portier, Denzel Washington, and Daniel Day-Lewis. His character in the Last King of Scotland was astonishing and the Oscar he received for the role was truly earned.I guess it doesn't take long for Hollywood to forget how talented an actor is, and Whitaker wasn't offered anymore challenging roles. I guess, for financial reasons, he took whatever roles were offered.To say this movie was completely awful and was poorly written is an understatement. The characters were unbelievable and the storyline did not make any sense. First of all, how could a street thug become transformed into a licensed therapist and earn TWO graduate degrees within a time frame of 4 years? How come the little girl did not hear any screaming after she left the locked room she was in? Why did the child's mother allow the father to have so much unsupervised time with the child? It was obvious he was unbalanced and unstable.I just can't believe how low Whitaker stooped to make this garbage. Not worthy of an actor of his caliber.

"Seems like you were in need so I figured I'd reach out to you." Tommy Carter (Mackie) is an author and spiritual adviser who wrote a book about his near death experience and tries to help others deal with what they have gone through. When his brother gets into trouble Tommy thinks the best way to help is is to do one more one-on-one session. He offers to help Angel (Whitaker), a husband and father who lost his mother but still sees her. When Tommy tells him he can't help him anymore Angel doesn't like that answer. This is a movie that I had no idea what to expect out of it. I thought it was gonna be a little creepy but when it started becoming a little like Misery I got into it. The acting is great from these two and the movie stays pretty tense the entire time but it was also a little draggy in some parts and I found it hard to totally stay focused on. This is a movie that is worth seeing if you can but don't expect anything super amazing. Overall, a movie with shades of Misery that dragged just enough to make it hard to stay completely involved in. I give it a B-.

This movie has gotten a lot of bad reviews and i have no idea why. The twist were at the right place and everyone says the acting was bad. Forrest Whitaker always KILLS everything he does and Anthony Mackie was PERFECT. People say Mike Epps is just a comedian but he was really good in this role. This movie actually had me confused and shocked at some point but i don't regret watching this at all. I really wish i would've went to the movie theatre to see this. I recommend this movie to anybody who loves movies that make you think and that don't just hand their ending out to you on a silver platter. My advice watch this on a rainy day, turn the lights off and pay attention. Hope this helps.

This has been a tough week movie-wise for me. While I have seen some excellent films, I must say that a few of them were so violent and so disturbing that it makes me want to take a break and seen something pleasant. After all, generally films should be enjoyable and the last two I've seen were incredibly well made but extremely upsetting to watch. And, "Repentance" DEFINITELY makes me want to take a break from violent films."Repentance" begins with a couple drunken men driving home from a binge. The driver is a mess and hits some pedestrian and then you see the car smash. Suddenly, the movie jumps forward four years. The driver of the car, Tommy Carter (Anthony Mackie), is a respected author who writes new age self-help books. He's at a book signing and Angel (Forest Whitaker) tells him that he loves his books—so much that he'd love to have some one on one counseling. However, Tommy declines--saying he's too busy and doesn't take on clients any more. Soon Tommy's ne'er do well brother arrives from prison and demands that Tommy give him a lot of money because he 'owes him'. You assume it probably has something to do with the opening scene, as the brother was the passenger in the car of the night of the accident. So, reluctantly, Tommy decides to take Angel on as a client to get money for the brother.The work Tommy does with Angel is like a combination of being a life coach and a lot of new age mysticism and ceremonies. The problem is that this sort of work might work fine for reasonably well adjusted folks, but it's very obvious that Angel is emotionally disturbed…VERY emotionally disturbed. Freaking crazy emotionally disturbed! Angel hallucinates and clearly should be seen by a team of psychiatrists—not some self-taught counselor. However, Tommy decides to treat the man. Further, he feels that Angel's problems can be solved by him stop taking his medication, working through some grieving ceremonies and thinking positive thoughts! Soon, Angel descends further and further into madness. Now it's obvious to Tommy that he's way in over his head—his brand of feel-good counseling is no match for 100% nuts! At first, he unwisely ignores Angel's requests for more sessions and later he goes to Angel's house to tell him that he needs to get help that he cannot give him—professional help. And then….things get violent and really, really crazy! Tommy is attacked and awakens in a basement—bound and at the mercy of a man who is out of his mind. Believe it or not, this is only about a third of the way into the film. What follows is terrifying and Tommy is tormented by this madman. But there's more…far more. Exactly what's next you'll need to see for yourself. While I thought Repentance was a very good film—especially because of its acting and clever twists—I also thought it was very hard for the average person to watch. After all, much of the film involves torture. There is a lot of blood and the film is definitely NOT for the squeamish. It also has a lot of loose ends that are deliberately left that way at the end of the film. I didn't mind that at all, as I like films where the viewers can debate exactly what will happen next. My wife, though, HATES films with such endings and I doubt if I ever could get her to watch a film like this.So is it appropriate for you? Well, if you could sit through "Misery", you might be able to handle this one okay, but it's a bit gorier and more difficult to watch. It certainly is NOT a film for kids, your mother or anyone else who is looking for a feel good film! But, in its defense, the film IS well done, has some clever writing and delivers a very powerful punch. Just don't say I didn't warn you.