A fine follow up for James Marsh after his Oscar nominated "The Theory of Everything" This film is about a amateur sailor who hits the sea because he takes part in a competition to become the fast sailor to cross the sea on a boat ...
If you expect a survival drama a la "All is Lost" you will be mistaken. Sure the film is also about survival.... physically but also mentally because it challenges its protagonist with a lot of moralic questions and situations. In fact the protagonist does it himself. The film is about overcoming your mistakes and if you are able to face them or not.
Colin Firth is really good in the leading role and his casting was quite inspired. He gives one of his very best post Oscar performances. I also love how he developed. A truly interesting character for a great actor.
Rachel Weisz was also fine, but often the material she was given to, did not justify her great talent. It was a rather seconary role that at least allowed her to show off at the end.
The film had many nice shots, a really great score by late Johan Johannsson who delivered one of his last scores to that film. A great and rather unexpected ending (if you dont know the true story). Highly recommended to those who enjoy good acting cinema.
Review of The Mercy
