Whitaker and Bana stand out in this somewhat staid, uneven and generally downbeat...South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission drama

Full Review | Original Score: 2/4 | Nov 17, 2021

Unfortunately the story's emotional impact is limited by the overstated performances and the heavy-handed direction of Roland Joffé.

Full Review | Mar 9, 2020

Strong performances from an international cast raise the interest level, and it's a vivid exploration of mercy that transcends some rather sentimental storytelling.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/5 | Jun 1, 2018

The film gives the viewer ample reason to make Tutu a saint, but little reason to make him a dramatic screen hero.

Full Review | Original Score: 5/10 | Mar 19, 2018

A drama about the restorative justice and forgiveness work of Archbishop Desmond Tutu and South Africa's Truth and Reconciliation Commission.

Full Review | Original Score: 4/5 | Mar 16, 2018

The Forgiven is a timely and powerful film, and the ultimate testament to the power of forgiveness and finding common ground in our humanity.

Full Review | Mar 16, 2018

Just alone, the scenes between Bana and Whitaker earn the film a recommendation, but other than that there's just not much else worthy of note.

Full Review | Original Score: 7/10 | Mar 15, 2018

The Forgiven plunges us into the heart of post-apartheid chaos, where we see and feel the hurt, fear, and rage that had to be aired before the healing could begin.

Full Review | Original Score: 4/5 | Mar 15, 2018

The core debate and both main performances are compelling.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/5 | Mar 15, 2018

Despite superb performances by Forest Whitaker and Eric Bana, it is overly formal & stylized, better suited to the stage.

Full Review | Original Score: 5/10 | Mar 15, 2018

Brutal violence, adult themes in post-apartheid story.

Full Review | Original Score: 4/5 | Mar 9, 2018

No attempt is made to win over the audience. This welcome absence of sentimentality allows us to experience Tutu's own crisis of faith as he attempts to reconcile this man's actions with his bedrock belief in forgiveness.

Full Review | Original Score: B+ | Mar 9, 2018

[The Forgiven] only succeeds as an ugly, empty-headed provocation.

Full Review | Original Score: 0/4 | Mar 9, 2018

It's when the two men come together, in a series of intense and uncomfortable dialogues, that the film is most effective.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/4 | Mar 9, 2018

Several powerful narratives vie for supremacy in the political drama "The Forgiven," but this sluggishly paced film's disparate parts never come together as a compelling whole.

Full Review | Mar 8, 2018

"The Forgiven" is heavy-handed from its early texts explaining apartheid through its end credits.

Full Review | Mar 8, 2018

At least gives the Commission's heroic chairman, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, his due by placing him front and center in its history - though it's debatable whether Forest Whitaker's glazed impersonation should be considered an honour.

Full Review | Mar 8, 2018

The Forgiven tackles its important political and social issues in an overly talky fashion. The film has its merits, but it represents a significant comedown for the director of such classics as The Mission and The Killing Fields.

Full Review | Mar 7, 2018

Unfortunately, this movie has so many damn things percolating all through it that it ultimately seems unfocused and painfully earnest.

Full Review | Mar 6, 2018

Roland Joff's film is largely successful in its attempt to grapple with the terrible truths of apartheid and its legacy.

Full Review | Original Score: 2.5/4 | Mar 5, 2018