Mercy | Rotten Tomatoes

Mercy

R

Released Apr 30, 2010

1 hr. 27 min.

Drama

Romance

List

43%

14 Reviews

Tomatometer

56%

250+ Ratings

Audience Score

A writer (Scott Caan) pursues a romance with a critic (Wendy Glenn) who panned his work.

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Audience Member

This, really, doesn't have any redeeming qualities.

Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars

02/22/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Where it loses points is in the rather cheesy fate that befalls one of heroes in the end - most people would see it coming all the way, and in retrospect, I did, too, I just kind of forgot about it. Where it gains points is in the incredibly human and believable story it tells: it's a tautly-written and well-paced story of ill-fated love that sweeps you up and holds you tightly in its grasp. In all, it's Scott Caan's best crack at a contemporary Clint Eastwood film, and it tells a well-acted little story about a volatile writer and the fragility of all that we love in life. It didn't quite dig deeply enough into the central couple's conflicting vocations - author and book reviewer - but as a study of its central character, I really enjoyed it.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

01/18/23

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Audience Member

I thought this was solid. I started to catch on to the 'twist', which isn't a 'twist' per se. Good performances all around.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

02/05/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Beautifully shot and poignantly written....loved it!

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

02/20/23

Full Review

Audience Member

i loved it. Mellow in the beginning but it develops well.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

02/23/23

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Audience Member

Absolutely a puzzle, but a wonderful and tragic love story. Scott Caan does a fantastic job as the scarred playboy, who falls in love with with the woman who turns him down. Normally I do not enjoy choppy stories that bounce back and forth, but this one is a keeper!! I think John (Scott Caan) does a great job as the emotionally scarred writer who does not trust women, and he learns this so well while being raised by a single father who is bitter over his wife leaving, never to return. As the story pieces together bit by bit, the puzzle comes together to reveal a tragic story about a man opening up to love, loving, and losing. I give it four stars, only one deduct for the choppiness. Please watch and enjoy!

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

02/04/23

Full Review

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Patrick Hoelck

Director

Scott Caan

Johnny

Wendy Glenn

Mercy

Troy Garity

Dane

James Caan

Gerry

Dylan McDermott

Jake

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Critics Consensus: Nightmare, Vengeance Both Get Panned

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Roger Ebert

Chicago Sun-Times

I have a problem with movies about men who women cannot resist.

Rated: 2/4

Jul 22, 2010

Full Review

Michael Ordoña

Los Angeles Times

Mercy is a romantic drama with some good qualities -- among them earnestness and strong performances -- but not enough to completely overcome the strain of its clichs.

Rated: 2.5/5

May 6, 2010

Full Review

Stephen Holden

New York Times

Scott Caan delivers a complex portrait of a womanizing bully with a cream-puff heart.

Rated: 3/5

Apr 30, 2010

Full Review

David Nusair

Reel Film Reviews

Frustratingly uneven...

Rated: 2.5/4

Oct 4, 2010

Full Review

Mark Peikert

New York Press

There's a frayed romanticism to Caan's script that belies his swaggering air of machismo; this is a man who understands the price of love, even if Johnny can't, or more probably, won't.

May 5, 2010

Full Review

John P. McCarthy

Boxoffice Magazine

Caan's decision to cast real-life pals such as Jane Fonda's son Garity, McDermott and John Boyd (as a blabbering lovesick friend)--not to mention his father--makes sense, but the decision to leave out the heart of his narrative doesn't.

Rated: 2/5

Apr 30, 2010

Full Review

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Synopsis

A writer (Scott Caan) pursues a romance with a critic (Wendy Glenn) who panned his work.

Director: Patrick Hoelck
Executive Producer: Jeff Soffer, David Albert Pierce, Mary Vernieu
Screenwriter: Scott Caan
Distributor: IFC Films
Production Co: IFC Films
Rating: R (Language|Some Sexual Content)
Genre: Drama, Romance
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Apr 30, 2010, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Mar 23, 2017
Box Office (Gross USA): $5.1K

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