Repentance (2014)

Strictly average movie

Good start, but then it gets ruined

good back-story, and good acting

After playing with our expectations, this turns out to be a very different sort of film.

Too many good actors in this for such a mediocre script. Actors made the best of what they had to work with and I presume they all wanted to try something different. Mike Epps shows some range which adds to his resume but for the life of me, I don't know why Sanaa Latham and Anthony Mackie took the roles....guess it must have been a slow year and pay was too hard to turn down, lol.Average suspense and unpredictable ending makes it a 5 of 10. Definitely no horror (as advertised)or much Thrill but quality acting saved it from lower ratings.

And by this I'm not only talking about the budget (which seems to be a big concern for another reviewer), but also about the story of the movie. Sometimes there is more to a story than the first glimpse reveals. It may feel like the movie tries to cheat its way into the viewers mind a little bit, but the actors make up for it.This is still a tough watch, because the title is chosen for a reason. There is not always reason to things happening in the movie and it seems a bit like a muddle from time to time, but it's still able to hold up a certain degree of suspense, if you let it to. The actors try their best to divert from some holes in the script (or finished movie, if scenes got deleted for pacing reasons) and the movie will be explicit in depicting violence to a degree.

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.

Sadly this film may not be embraced by the masses, as bad as they need to see those types of films, but one can hope. One ought to be sharp and capable of following intelligent plot to really enjoy this film. It's not the 6th sense, where everything is pretty much spelled out for you yet still maintains it's integrity by being genius. This is more for the figure it out, use your brain kind of audience.The cast bring it in terms of acting, my congratulations to the people who thought this would be great for an all black cast. The direction, the casting, was brilliant. Mind, consciousness, terror, a strong sense of reality, moving at real life pace, all the ingredients for a great psychological thriller are there. Very atypical for an all black cast, remember, I said atypical, please look it up and don't get confused. I personally think they should have maintained the original title VIPAKA. I played the Seer so I won't comment on my brilliant work :), I read the guidelines and it doesn't say I can't review a film I'm in, since many actors don't like films they're in, this one, is definitely worth a shot especially if you like the actors in it, (I personally can never take my eyes off of Forest Whitaker) and that genre, you will be happy you saw it.