| The Mercy | |
|---|---|
 British release poster | |
| Directed by | James Marsh |
| Written by | Scott Z. Burns |
| Produced by |
|
| Starring | |
| Cinematography | Éric Gautier |
| Edited by | Jinx Godfrey |
| Music by | Jóhann Jóhannsson |
Production companies |
|
| Distributed by | StudioCanal |
Release dates |
|
Running time | 101 minutes |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $27 million[1] |
| Box office | $4.5 million[2] |
The Mercy is a 2017 Britishbiographicaldrama film, directed byJames Marsh and written byScott Z. Burns. It is based on the true story of the disastrous attempt by the amateur sailorDonald Crowhurst to complete theSunday Times Golden Globe Race in 1968 and his subsequent attempts to cover up his failure. The film starsColin Firth,Rachel Weisz,David Thewlis andKen Stott. It is one of the last films scored by Icelandic composerJóhann Jóhannsson.
The film was released in the United Kingdom on 9 February 2018 byStudioCanal.
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In 1968, English businessmanDonald Crowhurst is inspired by SirFrancis Chichester to compete in theSunday Times Golden Globe Race, asingle-handed,round-the-worldyacht race. Though only an amateur sailor, Crowhurst believes that technology and gumption will enable him to succeed in a customtrimaran, thus ensuring financial security for his wife and young children. As delays and costs mount, his main sponsor, Stanley Best, becomes so nervous that Crowhurst is forced to sign promissory notes pledging his company and home to Best. Sailing away in theTeignmouth Electron, Crowhurst must complete the race or lose everything he holds dear.
Crowhurst arranges sponsorship and a press agent to promote his voyage and he is also supported by his family. During his trip he attempts to give an optimistic version of events to both his family and press agent but inwardly he is feeling under pressure due to his financial situation, the dangers he is encountering and his loneliness. The film cuts between his voyage and scenes at home where his wife Clare is attempting to deal with the situation.[3]
Crowhurst damages his boat and is forced to consider returning home. He cannot continue due to damage and cannot return without losing everything.
He begins to give false accounts of where he is along the race route and greatly exaggerates how far he has sailed each day. After many months of false coordinates, Crowhurst decides to be vague in his communications, hinting to the newspapers that he is rounding the cape of Africa, while instead sailing slowly and attempting to go unnoticed before returning home.
At home, his apparent success is bringing significant press attention. Robin Knox Johnston completes the race, but Crowhurst’s false accounts suggest that he will finish the fastest as other sailors drop out of the race. Soon there is only one other sailor left in the race to finish the fastest. Crowhurst slows down his return trip to avoid the attention that finishing fastest would bring, knowing that scrutiny would reveal he had fabricated his earlier location reports.
He learns that the other sailor still in the race has also dropped out and he becomes overwhelmed with guilt and the fear of getting found out. He starts to lose his mind and begins to hallucinate and imagines seeing his wife who he confesses to. As his mental health fails, so does his physical health and he is oblivious to harming himself as he attempts to stay occupied by maintaining the radio. Meanwhile the vessel drifts.
As his family, the press and public expectantly wait for his return, he loses all control of his mind and his situation and in despair realises he cannot go home and only has one way out. His vessel is eventually found adrift without Crowhurst onboard. It is not clear if he has jumped or fallen overboard. The authorities deduce from his records that he has lied about his progress during his journey.
In the closing credits it states that Crowhurst‘s body was never found and that he was at sea for 7 months and completed 13,000 miles.Robin Knox-Johnston was the only sailor to finish the race and he donated his prize money to Crowhurst‘s family.
On 27 January 2015, it was announced thatJames Marsh would direct the film, whichStudioCanal, Blueprint Pictures, andBBC Films would produce. StudioCanal and BBC would finance the film which had been developed byChristine Langan.[6] StudioCanal would handle the international sales at theEuropean Film Market and would also distribute the film in the UK, France, Germany, Australia and New Zealand.[6] The producers would be Peter Czernin,Graham Broadbent, and Scott Burns, with Nicolas Mauvernay andJacques Perrin of Galatée Films.[6] On 31 March 2015Rachel Weisz was reported to be in discussions to play Clare.[7] On 20 May 2015 Weisz was confirmed as Clare, andDavid Thewlis,Ken Stott andJonathan Bailey joined the cast.[8] This is the second collaboration ofDavid Thewlis and directorJames Marsh afterThe Theory of Everything. Bailey's casting was confirmed byDeadline on 27 May 2015.[9]
Principal photography on the film began on location on 20 May 2015 in the United Kingdom.[8] In early June 2015 filming was underway inTeignmouth, Devon,[10] and in mid-June, the production was spotted filming at theIsle of Portland inDorset.[11] By late July, filming had moved toMalta,[12] where some scenes were planned to be shot in the water tanks at Mediterranean Film Studios inKalkara.[12][13] During the filming,Colin Firth was hospitalised with a hip dislocation.[citation needed]The Mercy was also part shot atWest London Film Studios.[14] Some scenes were filmed atChatham Dockyard inKent, where HMSGannet was used as the port where the wives of the competition sailors posed for the press. As well as filming atBewl Water reservoir inKent, which features as the Teignmouth inlet whereDonald Crowhurst (Colin Firth) sails locally alone and with his family.[15]
For the purpose of this film, a full-scale replica of theTeignmouth Electron was constructed by U.K. boatbuilders Heritage Marine,[16] and was used for film sequences shot in England and in Malta. After completion of filming, the replica was purchased by artistMichael Jones McKean, who also owns the originalTeignmouth Electron remains beached atCayman Brac; the replica is currently dry docked in storage on the island of Malta.
In November 2017,Lionsgate acquired US distribution rights to the film, planning to release it through its subsidiaryRoadside Attractions.[17] It was initially scheduled to be released in the United Kingdom on 27 October 2017,[18] but was eventually moved to 9 February 2018.[19] Despite this, it was screened for awards consideration to members of theBritish Academy of Film and Television Arts in New York City on 28 November 2017,[20] followed by two screenings in Renfrew Street, Glasgow on 5 December[21] and Fountain Park, Edinburgh on 7 December that year.[22]
Noting that another film based on the same story was also being produced,Studiocanal (the producers ofThe Mercy) purchased the rights to its competitorCrowhurst, promising to release it soon after the release of the larger-budget production.[23]
Onreview aggregatorRotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 74% based on 82 reviews, with aweighted average rating of 6.24/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "The Mercy sails on Colin Firth's layered central performance, which adds necessary depth and nuance that the story sometimes lacks."[24] OnMetacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 60 out of 100, based on 19 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[25]