My Days of Mercy

{{Infobox film

| name = My Days of Mercy

| image = My Days of Mercy.png

| alt =

| caption = Theatrical release poster

| director = Tali Shalom Ezer

| producer = {{Plainlist|

}}

| writer = Joe Barton

| starring = {{Plainlist|

Kate Mara
Elliot Page{{efn|name=Elliot|Credited as Ellen Page}}
Amy Seimetz
Brian Geraghty
Elias Koteas

}}

| music = Michael Brook

| cinematography = Radek Ladczuk

| editing = Einat Glaser Zarhin

| production_companies = {{Plainlist|

Killer Films
Great Point Media
Lexis Media

}}

| distributor = {{Plainlist|

Lionsgate (United States)
Signature Entertainment (United Kingdom)

}}

| released = {{film date|2017|9|8|TIFF|2019|5|17|United Kingdom|2019|7|5|United States}}

| runtime = 108 minutes

| country = {{Plainlist|

United States
United Kingdom

}}

| language = English

| budget =

| gross =

}}

My Days of Mercy is a 2017 romantic drama film directed by Tali Shalom Ezer and written by Joe Barton. It stars Kate Mara, Elliot Page, Amy Seimetz, Brian Geraghty, and Elias Koteas.

It screened at the 2017 Toronto International Film Festival on September 8, 2017, as a Gala Presentation.{{cite web|last1=McCarthy|first1=Todd|title='My Days of Mercy': Film Review|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/review/my-days-mercy-review-1036913|website=The Hollywood Reporter|date=September 8, 2017|accessdate=22 April 2018}} It was released in the United Kingdom on May 17, 2019, by Signature Entertainment, and was released in the United States on July 5, 2019, by Lionsgate.

Plot

Lucy Moro and her older sister Martha are anti-death penalty protestors, fighting for the acquittal of their father Simon, who is on death row for the murder of their mother eight years ago. The sisters live in their parents' house in a small Ohio town, and travel to various states in a mobile home, together with their little 10-year-old brother Ben.

At one demonstration outside a prison in Illinois, Lucy meets Mercy Bromage, a lawyer whose father is a police officer with ties to the death penalty case the crowd is protesting. Despite the political tensions between the two, Lucy and Mercy grow closer to each other. They begin to keep in contact over Skype. During a solo excursion to a demonstration in Missouri, Lucy and Mercy start a romance.

Meanwhile, Martha is determined to free Simon (who she still believes is innocent) and manages to hire a lawyer, who is then able to get a four-month stay of execution to look for legal loopholes or any new evidence to re-open the case. When the last of Martha and Lucy's legal appeals is denied and the evidence continues to point towards Simon, a distraught Lucy travels alone to Illinois to visit Mercy. There, she learns that Mercy still lives with her parents and has a boyfriend. Lucy breaks up with her. Regardless, Mercy attends Simon's execution with the sisters. Martha proposes they sell the house and move away for a fresh start, and Ben and Lucy agree.

Six months later, Lucy is a waitress in California when Mercy shows up. Mercy attempts to rekindle their relationship, but Lucy initially rejects her before deciding to give her another chance.

Cast

Elliot Page{{efn|name=Elliot}} as Lucy Moro
Kate Mara as Mercy Bromage
Amy Seimetz as Martha Moro
Charlie Shotwell as Ben Moro
Brian Geraghty as Weldon
Elias Koteas as Simon Moro
Beau Knapp as Toby
Tonya Pinkins as Agatha
Jake Robinson as Ian
Jordan Trovillion as Katlin

Production

In August 2016, Elliot Page, Kate Mara, Pablo Schreiber, Elias Koteas and Amy Seimetz were cast in the film, with Tali Shalom Ezer directing from a screenplay by Joe Barton.{{cite web|url=https://variety.com/2016/film/news/ellen-page-kate-mara-romance-mercy-exclusive-1201840449/|title=Tali Shalom Ezer Directing Elliot Page and Kate Mara in Romantic Drama 'Mercy'|website=Variety|first=Dave|last=McNary|date=August 18, 2016|accessdate=September 19, 2016}}{{cite web|url=http://www.avclub.com/article/kate-mara-and-ellen-page-fall-love-death-row-drama-241516|title=Kate Mara and Elliot Page to fall in love in the death-row drama Mercy|website=The A.V. Club|first=Dennis|last=DiClaudio|date=August 23, 2016|accessdate=January 3, 2017}}{{cite web|url=http://www.vulture.com/2016/08/ellen-page-and-kate-mara-cast-in-drama-mercy.html|title=Elliot Page and Kate Mara Will Embark on a Forbidden Romance for the Drama Mercy |publisher=Vulture.com |first=Jordan |last=Crucchiola |date=August 18, 2016|accessdate=January 3, 2017}}{{cite web|url=http://theplaylist.net/ellen-page-kate-mara-teaming-mercy-20160819/|title=Elliot Page and Kate Mara Teaming Up for 'Mercy'|website=The Playlist|first=Charles|last=Dean|date=August 19, 2016|accessdate=January 3, 2017}} Christine Vachon and David Hinojosa served as producers under their Killer Films banner, alongside Mara and Page, while Robert Halmi Jr. and Jim Reeve will serve as executive producers through their Great Point Media banner along with executive producer Karri O'Reilly.{{cite web|url=http://www.indiewire.com/2016/08/ellen-page-kate-mara-romantic-drama-mercy-1201718485/|title=Elliot Page and Kate Mara To Star in Forbidden Romantic Drama 'Mercy'|publisher=IndieWire|first=Kate|last=Erbland|date=August 19, 2016|accessdate=September 19, 2016}} In September 2016, Brian Geraghty joined the cast of the film, replacing Schreiber.{{cite web|url=https://variety.com/2016/film/news/brian-geraghty-ellen-page-kate-mara-mercy-1201866126/|title=Brian Geraghty Joins Elliot Page-Kate Mara Romance 'Mercy'|website=Variety|first=Dave|last=McNary|date=September 20, 2016|accessdate=September 21, 2016}}

Principal photography began on September 19, 2016.{{cite web |url=http://www.cincinnati.com/story/entertainment/movies/2016/09/26/ellen-page-shares-first-look-her-new-cincy-film/91117634/|title=Elliot Page shares first look at her new Cincy film |website=Cincinnati.com |first=Carol|last=Motsinger |date=September 26, 2016 |accessdate=January 3, 2017}}

Release

The film had its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 9, 2017.{{cite web|url=http://www.tiff.net/tiff/my-days-of-mercy/|title=My Days of Mercy|website=Toronto International Film Festival|accessdate=August 22, 2017}}{{Cite news|url=http://www.thewrap.com/aaron-sorkin-brie-larson-louis-ck-movies-added-toronto-film-festival-lineup/|title=Aaron Sorkin, Brie Larson, Louis CK Movies Added to Toronto Film Festival Lineup|last=Pond|first=Steve|date=August 15, 2017|work=The Wrap|access-date=August 15, 2017}} It was released in the United Kingdom on May 17, 2019, by Signature Entertainment,{{cite web|url=https://www.launchingfilms.com/release-schedule|title=My Days of Mercy|website=Launching Films|accessdate=March 20, 2019}} and was released in the United States on July 5, 2019, by Lionsgate.{{cite web|url=http://lionsgatepublicity.com/home-entertainment/mydaysofmercy/|title=My Days of Mercy|website=Lionsgate|accessdate=February 19, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190220063106/http://lionsgatepublicity.com/home-entertainment/mydaysofmercy/|archive-date=February 20, 2019|url-status=dead}}

Reception

On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 89% based on 19 reviews, and an average rating of 7/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "Though My Days of Mercy{{'s}} knotty romance drifts into melodrama, it's grounded by Ellen Page and Kate Mara's exceptional chemistry."{{cite web|url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/my_days_of_mercy/|title=My Days of Mercy (2017)|date=5 July 2019 |publisher=Rotten Tomatoes|accessdate=October 9, 2019}}

The film was selected to compete for the Premio Maguey's Best Film award at the 33rd Guadalajara International Film Festival, where Page was awarded in the Best Performance category.{{cite web |title=Premio Maguey Best Film |url=https://ficg.mx/maguey2018/index.php/en/awards/premio-maguey-best-film |website=Patronato del Festival Internacional de Cine en Guadalajara |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210124152830/https://ficg.mx/maguey2018/index.php/en/awards/premio-maguey-best-film |archive-date=24 January 2021}}