The Mercy premiere: On the red carpet with the cast and crew

Tuesday night saw the premiere of British biographical drama The Mercy at London’s Mayfair Curzon. The film, directed by The Theory of Everything’s James Marsh, follows the exploits of amateur yachtsman Donald Crowhurst and his disastrous attempt to participate in the Sunday Times 1968 Globe Race. Colin Firth, who plays Crowhurst at an age 20 years younger than his at the time of filming, conveys the agony of the sailor’s experience alone on his failing boat while Rachel Weisz wonderfully plays his wife in a long overdue onscreen pairing.

A powerful and compelling telling of a true tale, The Mercy offers both a human story and an unmistakable allegory of contemporary anxiety in the British consciousness, as a bumbling Brit makes his way into uncharted territory woefully unprepared.

In the blistering cold, a stunning blue-silk-gowned Rachel Weisz and Colin Firth worked the red carpet with jovial ease alongside one another and we were able to steal a chat with some of the cast and creatives behind the film: Mark Gatiss (Ronald Hall), David Thewlis (Rodney Hallworth), Jonathan Bailey (Wheeler), Peter Czernin (producer), Robin Knox-Johnston (sailor, winner of the 1968 race).

Sarah Bradbury
Videos: Marta Starczynowska

The Mercy is released nationwide on 9^th February 2018. Read our review here.

Watch the trailer for The Mercy here: