Repentance (2014)

Review: I had high expectations from this film because it had some decent actors in it, but the storyline is sketchy and the pace of the film made it quite boring. If you use your head, the film is predictable from beginning to end although it's supposed to be a suspense thriller. It also seemed a bit over acted and the director chose to jump right at the deep end which didn't give the characters that much depth. The concept, which is about a man who has psychological issues after the death of his mum and he decides to get help from a psychologist, doesn't seem to go anywhere for the first half of the movie and then it gets extremely dark out of the blue. The ending was also very sketchy so you end up feeling a bit cheated after spending so much time waiting for the story to unfold. Personally, I thought that the movie seemed a bit cheap and not very well thought through. Disappointed!Round-Up: Forest Whitaker is not an actor that has chose the easiest path in his career. I would have thought that he has earned the right to pick and choose what roles to take, so it might just be down to bad choices why he has starred in so many dodgy movies lately. From big movies like the Butler and The Last King Of Scotland to the dodgy Pawn, Crossfire and the Truth, he has really had a rollacoaster of a career. Maybe he's just addicted to work like Samuel L. Jackson and Robert De Niro. Anthony Mackies career has picked up lately with roles in the new Captain America, Pain and Gain and the new Avengers movie, so I doubt that this film will harm his portfolio. In all, this film must have looked good on paper but it just wasn't put together well by the director. Budget: $5million Worldwide Gross: $1millionI recommend this movie to people who are into their suspense/drama/thrillers about a man whose suffering with psychological problems after the death of his mother and seeks for help from a successful book writer. 3/10

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.

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.

Looking at the raw movie ratings, it seems like the majority of voters gave this movie a 10. So someone please explain the low average score? On the other hand, I have noticed a correlation between low ratings and unfavorable movie endings on IMDb. I will repeat here what I said about the movie, "The Afflicted." Not every movie is a fairy tale with a warm and fuzzy ending. In fact, the more realistic a movie is, the less likelihood of a pleasant ending. The horror of it all does not undermine the moral of the story, which is that we all pay for our sins one way or another. The theme of this movie is cold, hard, Karma. Anyone who can't handle realistic fiction should go find a Disney movie.