THE MERCY (M)
Rating: three and a half stars (3.5 out of 5)
Director: James Marsh (The Theory of Everything)
Starring: Colin Firth, Rachel Weisz, David Thewlis, Ken Stott.


Can’t see a finish line, but the end is always in sight.

In mid-1968, a British yachting enthusiast named Donald Crowhurst filed his entry form for the Sunday Times Golden Globe Race.

A little over a year later, with the world feverishly tracking his exploits in this unprecedented round-the-world event, Crowhurst disappeared off the face of the earth, never to be seen again.

What exactly happened out there on the water has been pieced together over the years from logs left behind on Crowhurst’s vessel, found floating intact several thousand kilometres away from his perceived position in the race.

If you are unaware of the strange, troubling facts surrounding the Donald Crowhurst affair, do try and keep it that way until you have seen The Mercy.
Though this eerie biopic does go about its saddening, maddening business effectively enough for those familiar with the finer points of the story, the movie swells in sorrowful magnitude when viewed without knowing what lies ahead.

While Donald Crowhurst (played with an initially modest, then incrementally worrying presence by a superb Colin Firth) did have plenty of established credentials as an amateur yachtsman, his qualifications as a sailor on the open seas were virtually non-existent.

Crowhurst’s navigation skills were sketchy. Same goes for his ability to read and adapt to changing weather conditions.

Then there was his ambitious choice of craft for the Golden Globe Race : a radical trimaran design untested in large waves, high winds or powerful currents.

If all of those odds stacked against Crowhurst were not enough, there was also the incessant obsession of the world’s media with his progress in the race.
Further upping the pressure: Crowhurst had also signed a nasty contract with his sponsor If he failed to finish, he would lose everything he owned.

While his wife (Rachel Weisz) and young children wait at home and hope for the best, Donald Crowhurst makes a fateful decision that issues an open invitation to the worst chain of events imaginable.

To be perfectly frank, The Mercy will not be construed by anyone as the feelgood movie of the year.

However, thanks equally to the restrained, yet inquisitive approach of director James Marsh, and the rich performance smarts of Firth, the movie’s warning against making a choice that could prove impossible to live with is hauntingly, unforgettably worthwhile.