Mercy

No, wait - it IS a train wreck. Did ANYBODY view this thing before releasing it? Some of the acting in this is worse than I've seen in High School productions, believe me!

The only reason to keep watching is to see if it ever gets better, or how much worse the direction / dialog / acting (using that term loosely here) can get. Was hoping for some sort of redemption, but don't waste your time like I did.

Truly - this was a waste of film or whatever they shot it on. Sam Rockwell should hire someone to burn the masters.

It's 90 minutes I'll never get back.

I first saw this movie in 1997, and I can't help but to watch it every time it runs. This is grand movie. It did not take a whole lotta money to make such an amazing film, either! Amber Kain who played Ruby, is brilliant, she's beautiful, and she has so much talent. It is such a shame that she does not get many roles. Amber, you made "Mercy" the smashing film that it is!

MERCY starts off by lulling the viewer into believing he is watching a low-budget exploitative crime thriller, but unexpectedly the film turns into an incisive character study. The cast, especially John Rubinstein, Amber Kain, and Sam Rockwell, does a great job throughout. The only weak point is a very distracting, gratuitous scene in which the Rubinstein character meets a psychotic arms merchant, but this interruption is brief, and the plot soon picks up and builds to a satisfying climax.

This is the first Richard Shepard movie I have seen, and I plan to view more of his work as the opportunity presents.

The films of this director have, for me, been hit or miss. Shepard is a consistently good director, with deep values and a great sense of sarcastic humor. The problem is with the scripts that he chooses or co-creates. But this film is by far his best, especially because of its fine performances. As always, Sam Rockwell is captivating and John Rubinstein delivers a solid performance. But the runaway star of the film is its unusual villain. Amber Kain is a fireball of raw genius. She is brilliantly disturbing in the role of "Ruby." It takes an actor of rare humility to commit to playing such an unlikable role. It takes an even more rare talent to make such an unlikable character sympathetic. Amber Kain scores on both counts, much like Angelina Jolie did as the character of "Lisa" in Girl, Interrupted. Amber Kain is a movie star in the making that audiences will love to hate. The only question now is: can she play nice?

A film maker who succeeds in holding our attention firmly for the entire length of his movie and causing us to empathize with the characters, is doing something right. If he's done this on a clearly minuscule budget, all the more credit is deserved..

Richard Shepherd's does all this with "Mercy". While it's not unlike many other kidnap dramas, it's executed with a sure hand and nicely played by all. John Rubinstein, not usually a lead actor, does very well in the part.

Sam Rockwell is (yet again!) an incompetent small time criminal and all the other supporting parts are well portrayed.

While extremely competent, ultimately there is not enough here to get too excited about, but Shepherd is a writer/director to watch out for.