Mercy (2000)

Director:

Damian Harris

Writers (WGA):

David L. Lindsey (novel)
Damian Harris (screenplay)

Release Date:

11 February 2000 (USA)

Genre:

Mystery | Thriller

Tagline:

Venture into a world of deadly sexual pleasures.

Plot:

Detective Catherine Palmer investigates a series of sexually gruesome serial murders and becomes embroiled in a world of lesbianism and bondage after she becomes obsessed with one of the victims' paramours.

Plot Keywords:

Women | Detective | S&M | Murder | Bondage

Cast

Ellen Barkin	...	Det. Catherine Palmer
Wendy Crewson	...	Bernadine Mello
Peta Wilson	...	Vickie Kittrie
Karen Young	...	Mary
Julian Sands	...	Dr. Dominick Broussard
Stephen Baldwin	...	Mechanic
Marshall Bell	...	Gil Reynolds
Beau Starr	...	Lt. Fritch
Bill MacDonald	...	John Beck
Stewart Bick	...	Cushing
Ellen-Ray Hennessy	...	Murial Farr
Lara Daans	...	Dorothy Samenov
Claire Burton	...	Sandra Moser
Fulvio Cecere	...	Leeland
Zehra Leverman	...	Terry Ross

MPAA:

Rated R for language, drug use, and perverse sexual behavior including violence and nudity.

Runtime:

117 min | Argentina:114 min | USA:94 min (R-rated version)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Certification:

Iceland:16 | Finland:K-18 (TV rating) (self applied) | Argentina:18 | Norway:18 | USA:NC-17 (original rating) | USA:R | South Korea:18 | Australia:MA

Filming Locations:

Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Company:

Franchise Pictures

Trivia:

In the original script, the sex scene between Catherine and Vickie took place in the ladies room of the police station.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: In the beginning of the movie the detectives are examining the dead woman on the bed who is lying with her eyes open. As the camera pans up the dead body, you can notice the corpse blink right before the camera leaves her face. Worse still, the corpse has been mutilated by the killer and is not supposed to have any eyelids at all.

Quotes:

Vickie Kittrie: Well I wasn't exactly faithful to Dorothy.
Det. Catherine Palmer: Thats about the one thing we have found out in this investigation.
Vickie Kittrie: Do you know what I think sex is?
Det. Catherine Palmer: [realizing Vickie wants her] What?
Vickie Kittrie: A thrill like sticking your head into the mouth of the only Lion in the cage thats totally unpredictable.

Soundtrack:

Goodbye

A sordid tale of murder and perversion

When it comes to sex, normative behavior depends on the circles in which one travels. This film traverses a very sordid perimeter, and jolts us with images ranging from mild deviance to utter depravity. The themes include a women's club where affluent married women come to cheat on their husbands with other women, as well as transvestitism, sadomasochism, dominance and bondage, lesbian seduction and incest. Oh, and lest I forget the main storyline, we have serial killings where the mutilated female victims are always found in the nude.

Ellen Barkin plays a homicide detective investigating the killings. In the course of the investigation, she becomes obsessed with Vicki, who is a suspect due to her connection with two of the victims. Vicki introduces her to a world where pain, pleasure and sex collide.

This is a bold venture into sex noir that is sometimes provocative and at others disturbing, raw and distasteful. The plot was good and the ending original as mass murder stories go. Unfortunately, the presentation was very disjointed and often hard to follow. That is probably because the investigation took a back seat to the sexual odyssey, which meandered self-indulgently from hedonism to perversion. This film contained a good deal of nudity, some of which was appropriate to the story and much of which was gratuitous.

The direction by Damian Harris was good with a lot of interesting perspective shots and tight close-ups that enhanced both the suspense and the lustful aspects. However, the cinematography lost a great deal because the color quality was poor.

Ellen Barkin was a good choice for the lead in this film. Barkin has a natural toughness combined with a scorching sexuality, which was the precise combination her character needed. Peta Wilson played the sexually gifted Vicki and was seductive, sultry and lascivious.

Overall, this was a good, well-acted thriller with bizarre sexual preoccupations. I rated it 7/10, but I can understand why so many people hated it. It is definitely not for everyone. Many viewers will find the deviant sexual themes repugnant and offensive. If you are averse to lesbianism, sexual perversion or graphic gore you will want to go out of your way to miss this film.