Thanks for the memories!

I wanted to like it more than I actually did... But much of the humor totally escaped me and I walked out only mildly impressed.

It really made me laugh, but for some moments I was tearing up because I could relate so much.

The best films of this genre always show a path and provide a takeaway for being a better person.

This was a role made for colin firth,with his low relaxed voice and correct dictation,he does a decent job,in a not too well written script and plot. having read the book,seen documentaries,and other ffilms about this conning and misfortunate advetourous edison/tesla like characcter, i would have expected more. why did he cheat are meagerly told,and the faith of his family after he vanishes shoulld also have been better told. the settings though are lovely,especially the part of teignmouth in the movie.its very authentic and well made. light an d editing are fine,the score are engaging.

Watch the doco on the man and the race here: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0460766/reference. Way better than this. This really captures nothing of what it is like to be on the water alone. It is interesting we idolise the failure when the heroes in the race are so amazing. I feel sorry for the man, but what a crazy undertaking to take with so little experience. No one is really capturing what the real people are like. The doco is amazing. I've watched so many times because the characters themselves are so incredibly different in themselves. FYI, in this first race, it took about 9-10 months. Today, the record is shy of 43 days. This is usually contested every 4 years with the Vendee Globe, but there are always independent challenges. Truly amazing.

I know the story told here well, I've read a couple of books including 'A Voyage for Madmen' which is excellent and also saw the previous documentary film at the cinema called 'Deep Water' from about ten years ago, which I thought told the story more compellingly using witness interviews and actual footage and audio recordings of Donald and Clare Crowhurst themselves. Oh, and also Teignmouth where most of this film is set, is my hometown.This is a tragic and moving story in my opinion. The director and the cast are top drawer and all put in good performances, especially Rachel Weisz - a tower of strength within a family where she is the glue that holds them all together - yet her fragility is just below the surface. You glimpse it from time to time, but she is basically a strong and stoical woman. The cinematography and the sets/locations are good, and the pacing is good. However, (and it is a big however), there is a missing spark. I think they needed to add more edge and suspense to the events that occur towards the end of the film -what happens to Nigel Tetley, how Crowhurst's boat is discovered and the fall out that follows back at home, as the truth is pieced together. Basically there are opportunities throughout the story to make it more gripping and compelling, and those opportunities were not fully grasped by the filmmakers. Instead, you're just left with a long downward story arc. The last half hour of the film is largely filled with sorrow and regret of all those involved - and that's how the film ends.The release speaks for itself - I saw virtually no promotional interviews or appearances on TV and Radio leading up to the film's opening a couple of weekends ago. A studio movie where the two leads are oscar winners, and no promotion of any description? I saw this film at my local multiplex the weekend of release. It was a saturday early evening and there were about 15 of us in an auditorium for 200?? A shame, and somewhat of a missed opportunity when you have the talent that is on display here at your disposal. Read the book I mentioned above and watch Deep Water, This film could have been in the league of ' The Theory of Everything' or 'A Beautiful Mind' if the writer and director has brought a different approach to the source material.

Though it is highly speculative and certain implications it heavily makes may be either irresponsible or insensitive because of this, 'The Mercy (2018)' has the advantage of an interesting mystery that affords a certain dramatic license simply because of the perspective it portrays. It represents a rather captivating and ultimately quite tragic tale of man vs wild and, perhaps more acutely, man vs both our inner demons as well as those of the ones we leave by the shore. I didn't know the real-life story and I'm glad I didn't, because it certainly goes in ways I didn't expect. The pacey first act is fast, fluid and fantastically well-told, even if its montage style is sometimes slightly tiring, but the picture always knows when to drop its anchor so that the slower moments can hammer home the rather blind-siding sad soul at the heart of this surprisingly moving flick. 7/10