Redemption Road
Redemption Road
| 26 August 2011 (USA)
Redemption Road Trailers

In Tennessee, Bailey, a debt-straddled blues guitarist, is escorted across the state by a man named Augy so that he can collect his recently deceased grandfather's estate. A drama focused on an individual's spiritual redemption.

Reviews
edwagreen

Yes, this is definitely a story of redemption among several people in this 2010 film.A bitter drifter, a drunk, gets a visit from Michael Clarke Duncan, the latter harboring a terrible secret. Duncan tells our loser that his grandfather has died and that he should go back to Huntsville, Alabama.Not wanting to go, he has a sudden change of heart when a guy, whose wife he has fooled around with, discovers this and comes after him as well for the money he owes him. The guy is a terror and you know by picture's end he will be back to create mayhem.The film becomes one of self-introspection as the two guys travel back to Alabama. We see that they learn about life from each other.When Duncan's dark secret is revealed, our hero character controls himself from taking revenge. The men have forged a relationship.This is basically a good film with a tragic end bringing understanding and faith in the human spirit.

... View More
John Raymond Peterson

After I watched the trailers, I knew I had to see this movie. I had not yet seen a Mario Van Peebles directed movie I liked until now. It helped that Michael Clarke Duncan, who has 90 movies under his belt, has a face and build that gets immediate recognition (Oscar nominated for supporting role in The Green Mile), was the co-star to Morgan Simpson. Duncan delivers a good performance. Also helpful was the supporting role by Tom Skerritt who has 150 movies under his belt and has equal face recognition. As for Morgan Simpson, who has the lead in this movie, he was completely unknown to me but I was sold on his performance. He wrote the story so he had the benefit of knowing exactly what his character was suppose to feel and why.The story has a few weak spots but they don't deter the viewer from keeping focused on all the good points. To use the film's own expression, Duncan delivers some fortune cookie wisdom, but it is no less valuable wisdom as far as I'm concerned. Even the music delivers wisdom to those who pay attention. The four IMDb users who wrote reviews (there were only 4 before mine) gave the movie pretty good ratings and their reviews all have one thing in common which I wholeheartedly agree with: The music in the movie is really good, unless you hate the blues and country styles (especially the blues). The story has in the first 75% to 80% of the movie a well planned set-up for a surprise you don't see coming and which may bring tears to some viewers with kinder hearts; one other fellow reviewer admitted experiencing just that. Thankfully, Skerritt's character made a point in the movie that you need to cry sometimes to purge the sadness that will otherwise weigh you down…and it feels better after. We all know that to be true.If you consider yourself a movie lover or one that has discriminating taste, I hesitate not in recommending it.

... View More
flickski

I saw this film when it had a showing at the Hollywood Film Festival. The cinematography and acting is wonderful. Especially the performances of Michael Clarke Duncan and Morgan Simpson. But, I was blown away by the story itself. It kept me guessing until the end. I totally got lost in the journey. It is visually a treat.Simpson takes us on an arc from the depths of what life can give you. This film was solid from beginning to end.I would highly recommend this film. I heard it is in limited release. I hope it comes back to Southern California. I would definitely recommend it to anyone. Plus the soundtrack is amazing!

... View More
bev-12-635025

The gritty parts didn't pull any punches...this would be a good movie for recovering addicts. Many movies show the characters drinking heavily, but few show the consequences as vividly as in the beginning scenes. The character of Jefferson Bailey was flawed and almost disgusting, but his end of the road status was necessary to propel the plot forward. Maybe the story was too neatly tied together(finding someone and something important at the pawn shop)but I liked the characters enough to go along with the plot. I cried at the end. I cared about the characters, wanted them to overcome their pain and grow. The music was great, sets seemed like places I've been and it was good to see Michael Clarke Duncan, along with Tom Skerritt and the large cast of newer or unknown actors.

... View More