I SAW MERCY

Amazon/MGM's Mercy, an Orwellian, cyberpunk parable that takes place in 2029 L.A., is directed by Timur (Night Watch) Bekmambetov and written by Marco (Arthur & Merlin) van Belle and stars Chris Pratt as Homicide Detective Chris Raven, who's subjected to a ninety-minute interrogation by an A.I. consciousness, to determine whether he murdered his wife, Annabelle Wallis' Nicole. If found guilty, he'll be executed immediately after the "trial." To say the least, the tight timeline creates tiers of tension, heightened by revealing flashbacks, framed by spiffy, RoboCop succession. 

The A.I. consciousness, aka Judge Maddox, is enacted by Rebecca Ferguson, and as a high-tech tool for the Mercy program, (named as in "throwing oneself on the mercy of the court"), she lends stoic scrutiny to the scenario, not quite HAL 9000, Colossus or Proteus IV as such, but her persistence and precision makes her as daunting throughout the story's pivotal phases. Of course, Pratt, as a nuanced, flesh-and-blood entity, works in direct contrast to the synthetic judge, jury and executioner, which adds further suspense as the two collaborate to break the case.

Is Raven innocent and/or perhaps framed by algorithm  flaws? One would presume he's not guilty, though even with Richard Kimble, going back to the classic, Fugitive series, there were those who wondered if he was on the level, despite what the screen displayed. On this basis, I wondered if a ploy, in line with One of My Wives Is Missing, might surface, though deep down hoped not. Raven was just too darn identifiable in this regard. He was me (warts and all), and I was him (warts and all), maintaining that neither of us committed the crime. 

In premise, Mercy mirrors Philip K. Dick/Steven Spielberg's Minority Report, but there are elements of other dystopic yarns that color it, such as those featuring the aforementioned, dictatorial computers. I also found a Matrix vibe, as well as general, William Gibson components throughout, along with Rod Serling's Twilight Zone classic, "The Obsolete Man," Total Recall [either version, along with Dick's "We Can Remember it For You Wholesale"], Judge Dredd [comics and movies], Logan's Run [when it comes to a computerized hierarchy] and A Clockwork Orange [in regard to matters of autonomy and choice], with distinct dashes of the original, Star Trek episode, "The Changeling" and therefore, Star Trek--The Motion Picture, but also Trek's "Court Martial," for its "Is it real or is it Memorex?" visual record, which also brings to mind Buck Rogers in the 25th Century's "Testament of a Traitor.") 

Mercy's structure and congruent perspective, on the other hand, plays rather like Amazon/Rich Lee's War of the Worlds (a polarizing comparison, perhaps), but to a far greater degree, Josh Becker's Running Time and Alfred Hitchcock's Rope, though without the non-cutaway novelty. It's just a matter of Raven being stuck and prodded throughout in a stark, steady stream, with the clock ticking in a High Noon/Three O'Clock High/Moon Zero Two/Outland style, before that big verdict strikes. (A convincing, supporting cast fuels the feverish countdown and includes Kali Reis, Kenneth Choi, Chris Sullivan, Noah Fearnley, Jeff Pierre, Jamie McBride and Kylie Rogers as Raven's distraught daughter.) 

Mercy is worth a visit, whether one digs the speculative,  high-tech arena or not. For those who find A.I. promising and/or worrisome, the content should inspire some worthy food for thought on the cons of tech and the pros of truth.