I kinda can’t believe (though I really shouldn’t be surprised) that the 2018 historical drama The Mercy didn’t have a bigger cultural impact than it did. Which is, as far as I can determine, none at all. Five years on, I think it deserves some serious reconsideration. This real-life tale of a man who enters a contest to win an around-the-world sailing competition was big news at the time, in the very late 1960s, but has been all but forgotten, which is bizarre, because it completely plugs into today’s obsessions with “reality” TV, with displays of clichéd masculinity, and plenty of other realms of total bullshit that we are still dealing with today. (I am trying not to spoil!) Colin Firth is subtle, unflinching, extraordinary in this unsettling true story, and I cannot recommend it highly enough. (Read my spoiler-free 2018 review.)
US: stream on Kanopy; rent/buy on Prime and Apple TV
UK: stream on StudioCanal Presents; rent/buy on Prime and Apple TV
See The Mercy at Letterboxd for more viewing options.
