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Blerd Film Club: The Forgiven 2016


In 2017 Forest Whitaker starred in a British film called The Forgiven, well this is not that film. This is a different film that premiered in 2016. It might be British, it might be vaguely African. I honestly can not tell you because there is very little information about this film. I'm not even sure how it ended up my radar. What I can tell you is that the film was written by Michael Erickson and Stonz Walters. Stonz would also go on to direct the film.

The honorable Rev. Father Brian Williams is a successful pastor and community leader. He's good to the members of his congregation and treats everyone with respect. There's even a scene that goes on for way too long where he asks a gay couple why they've been missing church. On top of all that, he's a wonderful father and husband. He is the perfect man.

About 35 minutes into the film is when we actually get the plot rolling as Mr. William's wife and daughter are kidnapped. He goes to the police. There he spends the next hour being interrogated about if he killed them or not. Suddenly, a random white woman rushes in the door, and tells everyone she knows the kidnapper. It's her secret lover. With no actual detective work at all, they manage to go to where the family is being held.

Inside Rev. Williams pleads with the killers about how he is a changed man and they don't want to hurt him. They agree because he knows God now, and they go to his church. Then the police rush in and shoot the kidnappers anyway. Fast forward, and Rev. Williams is in jail forgiving them. He then surrenders to the FBI for his war crimes as General No Mercy

Wait, I wanted to reveal the first part last. The first scene of the movie is about ten minutes long. General No Mercy watches a woman be raped in front of her husband. Then he demands the entire family be murdered. The boy who hid in the closet and the girl who was out with friends were the survivors who plotted for 20 years on how to immigrate to America and track down this preacher. This scene was the first scene in the film and they expected us to just think he's a wonderful guy and feel bad. I felt bad for the wife and kid, but not him. They should have shot him.


This film's cover features the pastor with a gun in his hand and in big bold letters "Forgiveness has a price." The description written by Michael Erickson states:
Twenty years after the horrors of a West African civil war, Reverend Brian Williams must confront his past when his wife and daughter are kidnapped.
I am a firm believer that you can't judge a film negatively based on what they didn't tell you. For example, people hated Venom because it wasn't overly dramatic when every trailer pointed to cheesy action film. In this case everything pointed to action film. It did not point to an hour and a half of an old man being interrogated.  It was sold on a false bill of goods. We shouldn't have to sit through nearly half an hour before ANYTHING happens to progress the story.

I wouldn't even be mad if it was actually good. The idea of some random white woman knowing the kidnappers, contacting the FBI, tracking the location of the interrogation, and just walking in the room is laughable. I know white privilege is a thing, but not that much. Elester Latham was the only actor who provides a good performance. The rest of the cast make it hard to place this film, the accents are over the place. Some are just vaguely African, some are vaguely British and some are Vaguely American. The worst part being that several members of the cast pick up and drop accents whenever they feel like it. The wigs are terrible, you gave away the twist at the start of the film.

I hated this movie with a passion. But, I'm a nice guy so I'll tell you what I'll do. I'll follow in the footsteps of Chamillionaire, and forgive you. I forgive you for the bad wigs. I forgive you for pretending this was an action film. I forgive you for the lackluster plots and acting performances. I forgive you. But I'm not watching another film from anyone involved with this one.

You can check out some of my fiction at 12 AM Fiction or follow my web serial Exsanguinate and of course hear me on the Powerbomb Jutsu podcast.

    Darrell S.

    Hey, I write stuff, a lot of different stuff, that's all.

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