Sunday 11 February 2018

Review: The Mercy

I knew nothing about this story. Even after briefly watching the trailer, I still had no real expectations for it. So after seeing it, I was amazed that this tale is not more widely known.

It is set during a time when exploration achievements was still a popular thing as a few things were yet to be achieved.

The opening act gives you a real sense of adventure and I certainly got intrigued as how it would all turn out. But when a twist comes in the second half,  I was just so shocked as to how sad I felt by the end of it. That was thanks mainly to Colin Firth's performance as the main character.

You do struggle to think of a bad Firth performance, and in this one, he makes you feel a lot of sympathy for his character by the end of it. If it wasn't for Firth being cast, then I think it would be nothing more than ordinary.
Rachel Weisz did a good job as the female lead. She had solid chemistry with Firth, I believed in them being together and there are some strong scenes involving her. This includes very strong speech towards the end that just further impacted my emotions during the final act.
The top British cast does not stop as David Thewlis was the main support, and was as good as you expect him to be. I particularly loved his broad northern accent. I can't not mention British acting legend Ken Stott being in this. It's not much to make an impact. But he is certainly noticeable.

I can't think of much wrong with it. However if I was being cruel, I think they could have gone a bit more into the psychology of the central character, especially in the final act. That would elevated the impactful scenes into the stratosphere.

So while I think there is a lot of good stuff in this, it's just not strong enough for me to give an exceptional rating.
I think for the most part, it is pretty solid. But my liking for it gradually grew, and the emotional and profound finale made me strongly react to it in a pretty positive way. It definitely made me want to know more about it, and I think it will with many others.

Rating: 7/10

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