Alfre Woodard Gives the Performance of a Lifetime in ‘Clemency’

Every so often, a performer gives a life-altering role. As perfect or gut-wrenching as these performances may be, sometimes, they can be tragically overlooked — such is the case with Alfre Woodard’s performance in the 2019 Sundance hit Clemency, which is now available to stream on Hulu. Although she garnered little to no awards attention for her role, this is a performance that should be remembered.

Chinonye Chukwu directed and wrote Clemency, which follows Bernardine Williams (Woodard), a warden on death row. The story primarily follows one inmate trying to be pardoned from the death penalty. It’s a harrowing, human look into incarceration, and definitely not an easy film to digest. But it’s worth it. Clemency took home the Grandy Jury Prize at Sundance last year, and there’s a reason why: Woodard’s performance is downright haunting.

Bernardine opens the film with an execution gone wrong. The room fills with horror as everyone tries to correct the mistake — it feels inhumane, almost, which later results in outrage from the general public. Bernardine keeps her head on straight, though. It may not be easy, but it’s the job she’s got to do. Along with daily inmate trouble and political opponents, she also faces a moral burden and extreme pressure on her mental health. All of this is clearly bottled up inside of her, and Woodard knows how to present herself as a woman carrying so much agony.

Woodard balances Bernardine’s doubts, fears, and job commitment in her nuanced performance. When we get to peer into Bernardine’s personal life, it’s clear exactly how much pent-up tension the warden is living with. As her husband Jonathan (Wendell Pierce) tries to revitalize any sliver of their relationship that’s left, Bernardine rejects all of his support — her mind is always lingering elsewhere. In her mind, she is alone. No one else is facing her daily battles. Her sleep is riddled with nightmares. She questions her coworker insisting that she’s done a “good job.” This isn’t exactly a job that can be labeled as “good.”

Clemency is as much a character study as it is a film about the flaws in the death penalty system. By examining one of the key figureheads of the system — the death row warden — the film offers a greater understanding of prisons as a whole. Working in a prison has dried all the warmth out of Bernardine, leaving her a stone-cold rock. Is she a killer? Not really, no. But Woodard’s performance suggests that she’s constantly grappling with these philosophical questions.

As talks of prison reform have reached the frontlines of protests and media, now is the perfect time to stream Clemency. In one of the climactic scenes, Woodard robotically explains the execution procedure to an inmate accused of homicide as he slowly begins to sob in the corner. As hard as he’s worked to prove his innocence, she still has to carry out her job. In her mind, there’s nothing else to be done.

Woodard has already been nominated for an Oscar for her supporting role in Cross Creek. She’s garnered a mass of Golden Globe and Emmy wins and nominations. But it’s a travesty she received little recognition for her performance in Clemency. While the film is relentlessly feel-bad, Woodard’s powerful performance provides insight that’s necessary to watch. Clemency is a vital character study led flawlessly by Woodard, and truly a must-watch for our times.

Watch Clemency on Hulu