The Mercy

Name: The Mercy
Genre: Adventure, Biography, Drama, Mystery
Released: November 30, 2018
Duration: 112 min
Rating: 60
Cast: Adrian Schiller, Andrew Buchan, Anna Madeley, Colin Firth, David Thewlis

2018

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Mixed or average reviews based on 19 Critic Reviews

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USER SCORE

Mixed or average reviews based on 16 Ratings

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5.8

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5.8	User Score Mixed or average reviews based on 16 Ratings

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Movie Details & Credits

Lionsgate | Release Date: November 30, 2018 | Not Rated

Starring: Adrian Schiller, Andrew Buchan, Anna Madeley, Colin Firth, David Thewlis, Genevieve Gaunt, Jonathan Bailey, Ken Stott, Mark Gatiss, Rachel Weisz, Sam Hoare, Sebastian Armesto, Simon McBurney, Tim Downie

Summary: Yachtsman Donald Crowhurst's disastrous attempt to win the 1968 Golden Globe Race ends up with him creating an outrageous account of traveling the world alone by sea.

Director: James Marsh

Genre(s): Adventure, Biography, Drama, Mystery

Rating: Not Rated

Runtime: 112 min

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Critic Reviews

Movie Nation Roger Moore

Nov 16, 2018

It’s one of those limited-release films that few will see, with acting so compact and contained that everyone who loves great screen performances should. Weisz, Firth and Thewlis give us understated, unfussy performances that lift The Mercy, a wonderfully tragic story with a hint of magnificence about it. Read full review

Matt Maytum

Firth is terrific in an unbelievable-but-true tale that charts a course from the ridiculous to the profound. Read full review

The Playlist Warren Cantrell

Jan 3, 2019

Intriguing, tragic, and 100% relatable, “The Mercy” is a gripping look at man’s struggle to achieve greatness at all costs and has a lot to say about what those consequences entail when the receipts are tallied. Read full review

Jeannette Catsoulis

Nov 29, 2018

In prioritizing Crowhurst’s psychological frailty over his physical challenges (both conveyed more evocatively in the excellent 2007 documentary “Deep Water”), Firth and his director find something quietly touching, even soulful, in the character’s wretchedness. In this somber tragedy, the real demons are never anywhere but right inside that boat. Read full review

The Telegraph Tim Robey

Nov 29, 2018

Through all the film’s bumps and scrapes, Firth does invest a lot of commendable energy in helping us grasp Crowhurst’s besieged state of mind. It’s a good performance in shaky circumstances, but at least he honours the man’s contradictions, on top of his terror of public failure, and even greater one of exposure as a fraud. Read full review

The Guardian Peter Bradshaw

Nov 29, 2018

A more unforgiving approach might have been more interesting. Read full review

Wendy Ide

Nov 29, 2018

Unlike the steely resilience in the face of disaster of Robert Redford’s character in All Is Lost, watching Crowhurst slowly crack is the cinema equivalent of filling your pockets with pebbles and chucking yourself into the Solent. Read full review

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User Reviews

DawdlingPoet

Nov 27, 2021

This is a film which tells an interesting, if obviously depressing, story. I wasn't aware of the story prior to watching the film and watching it made me curious to see a documentary or something more factual that investigates what may have taken place. It is a bit of a slow moving film IThis is a film which tells an interesting, if obviously depressing, story. I wasn't aware of the story prior to watching the film and watching it made me curious to see a documentary or something more factual that investigates what may have taken place. It is a bit of a slow moving film I suppose, with the main plot not fully getting 'underway' until close to half an hour into the films running time, although the build up does give us an idea of how close the main character, Donald, was to his family (wife and sons). I felt it was a bit cheesy how scenes of Donald's struggles on board would cut straight to memories of happier times back 'on dry land', from many years ago. If your someone who looks for constant action in such films, then this will likely seem a bit slow and plodding and may well not hold your attention. However, I think it does well at highlighting the perhaps danger of male masculinity or the over competitiveness in some such people? if you know what I mean. Its a thought provoking watch, although not exactly greatly compelling visually, it may well provide proverbial food for thought, in relation to both people's strive for success, male masculinity/machismo and enforced/continual isolation. I would only recommend this film if your particularly interested in the main story.… Expand

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Berik

Aug 12, 2019

A movie about a fool, a coward and a cheat. When a man makes a unrealistic promise, digging a hole for himself, he sets himself up for failure. And that's just the plot...

I can't relate to a man that almost gambled his own business and house away, especially if his wife and children dependA movie about a fool, a coward and a cheat. When a man makes a unrealistic promise, digging a hole for himself, he sets himself up for failure. And that's just the plot...

I can't relate to a man that almost gambled his own business and house away, especially if his wife and children depend on it to live. Next to that, i think the movie actually intensifies his failure with questionable production and writing choices. Colin Firth has the same expression on his face during 90% of the movie, and it doesn't match events that happen right under his nose (seeing whales and a school of dolphins). Some very strange scenes in the final act confuse the viewer as to what is actually going on, and it leaves a very unsatisfying taste. This is the kind of story you show off in a documentary, and not a movie. No matter how fast the lie, the truth will always come out. It's a bad movie, and i give it a 4/10.… Expand

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