The Mercy

"Based on the true story"

2018 1h 42m EN

😐

5.9

MID

★5.9TMDB · 308

DramaAdventure

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

In 1968, Donald Crowhurst, an amateur sailor, endangers the fate of his family and business, and his own life, blinded by his ambition to compete in the Sunday Times Golden Globe Race, attempting to become the first person in history to single-handedly circumnavigate the world without making any stopover.

“Based on the true story”

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Cast

Colin Firth
Donald Crowhurst
Rachel Weisz
Clare Crowhurst
David Thewlis
Rodney Hallworth
Mark Gatiss
Ronald Hall
Genevieve Gaunt
'Miss Teignmouth'
Jonathan Bailey
Ian Wheeler
Andrew Buchan
Ian Milburn
Simon McBurney
Sir Francis Chichester

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: James Marsh
Writers: Scott Z. Burns, Dan Maslen
Languages: English, Spanish
Countries: United Kingdom

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Earned back only 25% of its budget on initial theatrical — a commercial disappointment on release.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Released 8 years ago.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

Dialogue crosses 2 languages: English, Spanish.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by James Marsh, shot by Éric Gautier. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Jóhann Jóhannsson. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Jinx Godfrey shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Colin Firth and Rachel Weisz and David Thewlis carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "Based on the true story".

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

James Marsh directs. Éric Gautier behind the camera. Jóhann Jóhannsson scores. Jinx Godfrey cuts. A commercial under-performer on release. Produced in United Kingdom. Dialogue in English, Spanish.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Earned back only 25% of its budget on initial theatrical — a commercial disappointment on release.
2Released 8 years ago.
3Dialogue crosses 2 languages: English, Spanish.
4Directed by James Marsh, shot by Éric Gautier. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
5Original score by Jóhann Jóhannsson. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
6Editor Jinx Godfrey shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
7Colin Firth and Rachel Weisz and David Thewlis carry the top of the cast.
8Marketing tagline: "Based on the true story".
9IMDB entry: tt3319730 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
10Classified under 10 themes, including "england", "inventor", "based on true story", "argentina".

The technical file

Cinematography: Éric Gautier
Original score: Jóhann Jóhannsson
Editing: Jinx Godfrey
Production design: Jon Henson
Costume design: Louise Stjernsward
Makeup / hair: Emma Faulkes
Sound: Johnnie Burn
Stunt coordinator: Nick Chopping
Runtime: 102 min · 1h 42m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $18,000,000
Box office: $4,536,348
Return: 25% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): PG-13
IMDB: The Mercy (2018)

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James Marsh

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What people are saying

Peter McGinn2021-01-26
★ 6/10
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.
CinemaSerf2024-01-14
★ 6/10
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.