Expecting Mercy

The director and all the actors were new to me, and with the exception of Brian Mani, who gives a doing-it-by-numbers performance, they all tried really hard to made the twisting but ultimately unconvincing plot work. In fact, unusually for a noir, three of the four main characters are actually likable! First-time director and screenwriter Dave Hansen constructs something that rarely rises above the TV movie level, but it's a good TV movie and a far sight better than many of the bigger-budget mainstream productions I've seen lately. What it really lacks is tension, and maybe that's because it's too prettily filmed. Noirs work best in black and white, and this one is far too bright and cheerful. I've probably made this movie sound worse than it it. Despite its failings it's a good way of spending 90 minutes if you're in the right mood, so if you like John Dahl's modern noirs, give this one a try. Well worth renting, but not buying.

Interesting film concerning a young couple who have some very dark secrets and are running away from problems which they created. Their yellow sports car begins to have car problems and they resort to finding a sort of a Bed & Breakfast place to crash for the night. This young couple tell the owners they are newly weds and they settle in for an eventful night. The male owner of the B&B decides to look in on the married couple and see all the goodies going on in their bedroom. Of course he sees plenty of nudity on a special designed TV Monitor. Carrie Hitchcock, (Jackie), Brian Mani, (Edward Slayter)and Heather Prete,(Madalyn) all give an outstanding performance. This film has many twists and turns and you really begin to wonder just what kind of an ending this picture will eventually have, Flowers and Rose Bushes?