The Mercy

Reviews

Peter McGinn
I like Colin First enough to cut his films some slack sometimes, and this is one of those times. I thought the movie was entertaining overall, and well acted. At the same time I had a couple of problems with it. One was that I found the family flashbacks while he was at sea to be distracting. It wasn’t a big thing, but they didn’t seem meaningful or well placed as far as furthering the plot or his character. The other issue was perhaps because I wasn’t paying close enough attention, but a few gaps emerged for me as far as knowing what he was doing during the voyage. It made sense to me when I researched his story a bit, but until then there as some confusion for me. But I wouldn’t discourage anyone for watching it for that or any other reason.

CinemaSerf
Based on the true story of aspiring round-the-world yachtsman Donald Crowhurst (Colin Firth) this rather disappointingly sluggish drama tries to engage us in the man's lifelong passion. A passion that jeopardises his business, puts him into debt and relegates his wife and two young children to second place as he reckons he can circumnavigate the globe in his catamaran. This isn't a story that I was aware of, historically, but the facts are undeniable so it's really all down to how director James Marsh tells us the story of the determined man. In that respect this doesn't really deliver. Firth brings no sense of peril to the risks of the role. It's as if he was one of those people who would go off climbing mountains in January with just trainers and a t-shirt on. It emphasises way more the venal aspects of funding his participation but not really the competitive or characterful ones and the seaborne action - such as it is - is duck pond stuff that gives us little sense of just how treacherous the ocean can be. Though the denouement did rather swipe at a press that can be desperately fickle, this whole film just didn't ever get going and at almost two hours I felt it dragging as surely as if it had an anchor of it's own. It's a watchable film, but it's certainly not a memorable one.
Movie Recommendation
- The High Frontier2016-02-19A father and his two teenage sons travel to a small mountain cabin for a male bonding adventure. When a lost tourist arrives at the cabin, their male-bonding outing turns into a struggle for survival.More...
- 9 Days Awake2020-03-15“9 Days Awake”, the film adaptation of the eponymous novel by Eric Stehfest. Jannik Schümann plays Eric, a junkie who lives to party. He is addicted to the one drug that makes him feel invincible- "like Jesus and the terminator at the same time." When he is accepted to an acting school in Berlin, he tries to reconnect with his great love Anja (Peri Baumeister), change his life, and strive to be better. But numerous conflicts and issues follow him, leaving him to retreat back to his old ways as other situations escalate.More...
- Leading Lady Parts2018-03-08The best women of British acting go to an audition for a dream role, primed to take on the role of a lifetime: that complex woman, the strong woman, a woman for today.More...
- Finding Your Feet2017-12-26A lady has her prim and proper life turned upside down after discovering her husband's affair.More...
- Blackbird2019-09-06A terminally ill mother invites her family to their country house for one final gathering, but tensions quickly boil over between her two daughters.More...
- Red Nose Day Actually2017-03-24Fourteen years after the events of the first film, a series of encounters between people in Britain reminds us that in these different times Love, actually exists.More...
- Demi-sœurs2018-05-30Lauren, a lovely 29-year-old it-girl, tries to break into the world of fashion by skimming Parisian parties. Olivia, a 28-year-old psychologist, has two obsessions: to save the confectionery of her parents, and to find her ideal husband. At the age of 26, Salma, a fiery young history teacher, still lives with her mother in the suburbs. Their roads have no reason to cross - until the day when, on the death of their biological father that they never knew, they inherit together a splendid Parisian apartment. For these three sisters who have nothing in common, cohabitation will prove to be explosive, to say the least.More...
- The Alamo1960-10-23The legendary true story of a small band of soldiers who sacrificed their lives in hopeless combat against a massive army in order to prevent a tyrant from smashing the new Republic of Texas.More...
- Lean on Pete2018-04-06Charley Thompson, a teenager living with his single father, gets a summer job working for horse trainer Del Montgomery. Bonding with an aging racehorse named Lean on Pete, Charley is horrified to learn he is bound for slaughter, and so he steals the horse, and the duo embark on an odyssey across the new American frontier.More...
- On Chesil Beach2018-01-19In 1962 England, a young couple finds their idyllic romance colliding with issues of sexual freedom and societal pressure, leading to an awkward and fateful wedding night.More...
- Yao2019-01-23From his village in northern Senegal, Yao is a 13-year-old boy ready to do anything to meet his hero: Seydou Tall, a famous French actor. Invited to Dakar to promote his new book, the latter goes to his country of origin for the first time. To fulfill his dream, the young Yao organizes his fugue and brave 387 kilometers alone to the capital. Touched by this child, the actor decides to flee his obligations and to accompany him home. But on the dusty and uncertain roads of Senegal, Seydou understands that while rolling towards the village of the child, it also rolls towards its roots.More...
- Based on a True Story2017-11-01Delphine is the author of an autobiographical novel that has become a bestseller. Exhausted by the promotional tour, just when she feels out of place, paralyzed by the idea of having to start writing again, she meets Elle, a young, attractive, intelligent, intuitive woman who seems to understand her better than anyone.More...
- The Miracle Season2018-04-13After the tragic death of star volleyball player Caroline "Line" Found, a team of dispirited high school girls must band together under the guidance of their tough-love coach in hopes of winning the state championship!More...
- Gambit2012-04-25An art curator decides to seek revenge on his abusive boss by conning him into buying a fake Monet, but his plan requires the help of an eccentric and unpredictable Texas rodeo queen.More...
- Loro 12018-04-24"Loro", in two parts, is a period movie that chronicles, as a fiction story, events likely happened in Italy (or even made up) between 2006 and 2010. "Loro" wants to suggest in portraits and glimps, through a composite constellation of characters, a moment in history, now definitively ended, which can be described in a very summary picture of the events as amoral, decadent but extraordinarily alive. Additionally, "Loro" wishes to tell the story of some Italians, fresh and ancient people at the same time: souls from a modern imaginary Purgatory who, moved by heterogeneous intents like ambition, admiration, affection, curiosity, personal interests, establish to try and orbit around the walking Paradise that is the man named Silvio Berlusconi.More...
- Tad, the Lost Explorer, and the Secret of King Midas2017-03-25Tad dreams of becoming an archaeologist traveling the world, uncovering hidden secrets and lost treasure, but his job working construction keeps him daydreaming instead of exploring. The chance of a lifetime comes when he is invited to attend archaeologist Sara Lavrof's presentation of her latest discovery - the papyrus that proves the existence of the Necklace of Midas, the legendary King who turned everything he touched into solid gold.More...
- A Fantastic Woman2017-04-06Marina's life is thrown into turmoil following the death of her partner. Mourning the loss of the man she loved, she finds herself under intense scrutiny from those with no regard for her privacy.More...
- Heavenly Creatures1994-09-12Precocious teenager Juliet moves to New Zealand with her family and soon befriends the quiet, brooding Pauline through their shared love of fantasy and literature. This friendship gradually develops into an intense and obsessive bond.More...
- Daddio2024-06-27A woman taking a cab ride from JFK airport engages in a conversation with the driver about the important relationships in their lives.More...
- Rolling to You2018-03-14Jocelyn is a selfish and misogynist businessman. He tries to seduce a young pretty woman by pretending to be handicapped, till the day he meets her sister, who is also in a wheelchair.More...
Similar Movies
Driving Miss Daisy
1989-12-13The story of an old Jewish widow named Daisy Werthan and her relationship with her black chauffeur, Hoke. From an initial mere work relationship grew in 25 years a strong friendship between the two very different characters, in a time when those types of relationships were shunned.The Straight Story
1999-10-15A retired farmer and widower in his 70s, Alvin Straight learns one day that his distant brother Lyle has suffered a stroke and may not recover. Alvin is determined to make things right with Lyle while he still can, but his brother lives in Wisconsin, while Alvin is stuck in Iowa with no car and no driver's license. Then he hits on the idea of making the trip on his old lawnmower, thus beginning a picturesque and at times deeply spiritual odyssey.Schindler's List
1993-12-15The true story of how businessman Oskar Schindler saved over a thousand Jewish lives from the Nazis while they worked as slaves in his factory during World War II.A Beautiful Mind
2001-12-14From the heights of notoriety to the depths of depravity, John Forbes Nash Jr. experiences it all. As a brilliant but socially awkward mathematician, he made a groundbreaking discovery early in his career and stands on the brink of international acclaim. But as the handsome and arrogant Nash accepts secret work in cryptography, he becomes entangled in a mysterious conspiracy. His life takes a nightmarish turn and he soon finds himself on a painful and harrowing journey of self-discovery.Erin Brockovich
2000-03-17A twice-divorced mother of three who sees an injustice, takes on the bad guy and wins -- with a little help from her push-up bra. Erin goes to work for an attorney and comes across medical records describing illnesses clustered in one nearby town. She starts investigating and soon exposes a monumental cover-up.Monster
2003-12-24An emotionally scarred highway drifter shoots a sadistic trick who rapes her, and ultimately becomes America's first female serial killer.Jean Moulin, une affa...
2003-01-06Drama set in the Second World War, focused on Jean Moulin, hero, martyr and symbol of the French resistance and the patriotism during the dark years of Nazi occupation.Edward Scissorhands
1990-12-07A small suburban town receives a visit from a castaway unfinished science experiment named Edward.Back to the Future Pa...
1989-11-22Marty and Doc are at it again as the time-traveling duo head to 2015 to nip some McFly family woes in the bud. But things go awry thanks to bully Biff Tannen and a pesky sports almanac. In a last-ditch attempt to set things straight, Marty finds himself bound for 1955 and face to face with his teenage parents -- again.Back to the Future Pa...
1990-05-25The final installment finds Marty digging the trusty DeLorean out of a mineshaft and looking for Doc in the Wild West of 1885. But when their time machine breaks down, the travelers are stranded in a land of spurs. More problems arise when Doc falls for pretty schoolteacher Clara Clayton, and Marty tangles with Buford Tannen.Braveheart
1995-05-24Enraged at the slaughter of Murron, his new bride and childhood love, Scottish warrior William Wallace slays a platoon of the local English lord's soldiers. This leads the village to revolt and, eventually, the entire country to rise up against English rule.Star Trek: First Cont...
1996-11-22The Borg, a relentless race of cyborgs, are on a direct course for Earth. Violating orders to stay away from the battle, Captain Picard and the crew of the newly-commissioned USS Enterprise E pursue the Borg back in time to prevent the invaders from changing Federation history and assimilating the galaxy.Dead Poets Society
1989-06-02At an elite, old-fashioned boarding school in New England, a passionate English teacher inspires his students to rebel against convention and seize the potential of every day, courting the disdain of the stern headmaster.Boys Don't Cry
1999-09-02A young transgender man explores his gender identity and searches for love in rural Nebraska.The Wanderers
1979-07-13The streets of the Bronx are owned by '60s youth gangs where the joy and pain of adolescence is lived. Philip Kaufman tells his take on the novel by Richard Price about the history of the Italian-American gang ‘The Wanderers.’Live and Let Die
1973-06-27James Bond must investigate a mysterious murder case of a British agent in New Orleans. Soon he finds himself up against a gangster boss named Mr. Big.Dr. No
1962-10-07Agent 007 battles mysterious Dr. No, a scientific genius bent on destroying the U.S. space program. As the countdown to disaster begins, Bond must go to Jamaica, where he encounters beautiful Honey Ryder, to confront a megalomaniacal villain in his massive island headquarters.From Russia with Love...
1963-10-10Agent 007 is back in the second installment of the James Bond series, this time battling a secret crime organization known as SPECTRE. Russians Rosa Klebb and Kronsteen are out to snatch a decoding device known as the Lektor, using the ravishing Tatiana to lure Bond into helping them. Bond willingly travels to meet Tatiana in Istanbul, where he must rely on his wits to escape with his life in a series of deadly encounters with the enemy.Goldfinger
1964-09-20Special agent 007 comes face to face with one of the most notorious villains of all time, and now he must outwit and outgun the powerful tycoon to prevent him from cashing in on a devious scheme to raid Fort Knox -- and obliterate the world's economy.You Only Live Twice
1967-06-13A mysterious spacecraft captures Russian and American space capsules and brings the two superpowers to the brink of war. James Bond investigates the case in Japan and comes face to face with his archenemy Blofeld.