Performances Rule The Dayįor all its hefty plot elements, My Days of Mercy is, at its heart, a character piece. It’s this tenor that pushes it out of vogue more than its faults, and in the end its inability to find a market means we’ll overlook a film willing to take a loving but wide-eyed look at a complicated scenario. Their differences don’t lead to histrionics or finger-pointing, instead taking the route of level-headed disagreements and across the aisle understanding. You see, the lovebirds meet at an execution, with Page’s Lucy protesting for abolishing the practice and Mara’s Mercy there in support. The film not only has a gentle, queer love story that feels a bit retro, it also takes on the ever-marketable death penalty debate (rake in those dollars, baby). Just look at what happened to My Days of Mercy: an Ellen Page and Kate Mara starring drama that premiered at TIFF 2017 to fairly strong reviews is just now getting a limited theatrical and VOD release stateside, and that’s in large part because it doesn’t really fit into today’s marketplace. Add in the varying desires of casual audiences, representation-oriented critics, and the queer community itself and you’ve got a small, constantly moving target to hit if you want to make a satisfying film.Īnd I know, art is not beholden to majority rule or even to representation standards, but it is good if your film can find its place in the market.
Politics both on and off the screen are moving rapidly, and with that comes changing expectations for these movies. Having a queer film sit in the can for nearly two years must be a terrifying thing in today’s world.
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