The Mercy

StudioCanal
Company type	Film production and distribution company
Industry	Film industry
Headquarters	United Kingdom
Area served	United Kingdom, France, Germany, Australia, New Zealand
Key people	Christine Langan (development guidance), Peter Czernin (producer), Graham Broadbent (producer), Scott Burns (producer), Nicolas Mauvernay (producer), Jacques Perrin (producer)
Products	Films

The Mercy is a 2017 British biographical drama directed by James Marsh and scripted by Scott Z. Burns. The film portrays the ill-fated 1968 endeavor of amateur sailor Donald Crowhurst to complete the Sunday Times Golden Globe Race, focusing on his financial difficulties and ensuing deception. The cast includes Colin Firth, Rachel Weisz, David Thewlis, and Ken Stott, with one of the final musical scores composed by Jóhann Jóhannsson.

Distributed in the United Kingdom on 9 February 2018 by StudioCanal, the movie delves into Crowhurst’s perilous plan to secure sponsorship and his efforts to uphold appearances despite escalating debts.

Plot

In 1968, Donald Crowhurst, an English businessman and amateur yachtsman, enters the solo, circumnavigational Sunday Times Golden Globe Race with hopes of achieving financial security for his family through sponsorship arrangements. Confronted with rising expenses and delays, he offers his company and home as collateral to back Stanley Best, making it essential for him to complete the race.

Sailing his custom-built trimaran Teignmouth Electron, Crowhurst maintains a facade of confidence toward his family and the media while contending with technical malfunctions, solitude, and financial burdens. After sustaining damage to his vessel, he begins fabricating navigation logs to conceal his lack of progress, inflating daily distances traveled.

As competitors withdraw one by one, Crowhurst’s falsified updates imply he is leading the race, drawing significant media attention. To prevent exposure of his deceit, he slows down his return trip. Overcome by guilt and anxiety, he suffers a mental breakdown accompanied by hallucinations, engaging in imagined dialogues with his wife while continuing radio contact.

Eventually, Crowhurst vanishes at sea; his boat is discovered adrift without him aboard. Authorities find evidence of his forged records but never locate his body. The closing credits reveal that Crowhurst spent seven months at sea covering approximately 13,000 miles. Fellow racer Robin Knox-Johnston completed the race and donated his prize money to Crowhurst’s family.

Development

On 27 January 2015, it was announced that director James Marsh would lead the project, produced by StudioCanal, Blueprint Pictures, and BBC Films. The film was financed by StudioCanal and BBC Films under the development guidance of Christine Langan. StudioCanal handled international sales at the European Film Market and managed distribution across the UK, France, Germany, Australia, and New Zealand. Key producers included Peter Czernin, Graham Broadbent, Scott Burns, alongside Nicolas Mauvernay and Jacques Perrin from Galatée Films. By 31 March 2015, negotiations were underway for Rachel Weisz to portray Clare Crowhurst; her participation was confirmed on 20 May 2015 along with casting additions David Thewlis, Ken Stott, and Jonathan Bailey. This marked the second collaboration between Thewlis and Marsh following The Theory of Everything.

Filming

Principal photography commenced on 20 May 2015 in the United Kingdom. Filming progressed through early June in Teignmouth, Devon, before relocating mid-June to the Isle of Portland in Dorset. By late July, production shifted to Malta, where scenes were captured in water tanks at Mediterranean Film Studios located in Kalkara. During shooting, lead actor Colin Firth experienced a hip dislocation requiring hospitalization. Additional filming took place at West London Film Studios, as well as at Chatham Dockyard in Kent—where HMS Gannet stood in as the port for press sequences—and at Kent’s Bewl Water reservoir representing Teignmouth inlet scenes involving Donald Crowhurst (Colin Firth) sailing.

A life-sized replica of the Teignmouth Electron was constructed by UK-based Heritage Marine for use during shoots in England and Malta. Following production completion, this replica was purchased by artist Michael Jones McKean, who also owns the original Teignmouth Electron, which remains beached at Cayman Brac. The replica continues to be dry docked in Malta.

Release

In November 2017, Lionsgate secured the US distribution rights for the movie, intending to launch it via its subsidiary Roadside Attractions. The UK release, originally planned for 27 October 2017, was delayed until 9 February 2018. Before this date, the film was presented for awards consideration by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts in New York on 28 November 2017, followed by additional showings in Glasgow on 5 December and Edinburgh on 7 December.

It is worth mentioning that Studiocanal, the producers behind The Mercy, also acquired distribution rights to a rival film titled Crowhurst, with plans to release it soon after their higher-budget project.

Reception

According to the review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film has a 74% approval rating based on 82 critic reviews, with an average score of 6.24 out of 10. The general consensus praises Colin Firth's nuanced portrayal for bringing emotional complexity to an otherwise thin narrative. On Metacritic, it holds a score of 60 out of 100 from 19 reviews, categorized as "mixed or average reviews."

External links

Desperate Voyage: Donald Crowhurst, The London Sunday Times Golden Globe Race, and the Tragedy of Teignmouth Electron