MERCY ROAD
Australia, 2023, 86 minutes, Colour.
Luke Bracey, voice of: Toby Jones.
Directed by John Curran.
On Mercy Road there is no mercy.
This is a very intense film, focusing on a man driving a car through the night, his momentarily getting out of the car, but the camera inside the car, focusing on the man, on the dashboard, on his face, on the continued phone calls and his responses. He is played, even more intensely, by Australian actor with international career, Luke Bracey.
The audience has to pay attention, listening to the man and his sometimes confused outbursts, the range of phone calls he gets, commanding sum to be listened to, cancelling others. We gather that he has committed a crime, that a man, business connection, husband of his ex-wife, has been killed. But, his more frantic about the disappearance of his young daughter.
In the pounding score reinforces this frantic atmosphere, often desperate.
By contrast with the anxieties of the driver, there is the caller whose voice is very calm, controlling, giving advice, driving directions, information about his daughter, about the dead man, about the ex-wife, seemingly detached, called in to handle situations. And the voices that are British actor, Toby Jones.
Filming inside a car has been a test of many directors, an expert was a bus tourist Army from Iran. But, there was also the British drama, Locke, with Tom Hardy behind the wheel, and a desperate situation.
The phone calls heighten the tension. Apart from the calmly sinister voice of the mediator, there are phone calls from community services concerning the daughter, some contact with his ex-wife, and, somewhat out of the blue, business partners expecting him to turn up for work. They have a cumulative effect.
Some audiences may find this a drive to claustrophobic and intense. On the other hand, it is a bold experiment by American director, John Curran, Chappaquidik,, The Painted Veil, who spent some time in Australia and directed films like Praise and Tracks.
- The title, the location, the tone?
- Australian production, the Australian star, voices? Of the menacing voice of Toby Jones? The musical score? Tone, intensity?
- The situation, the father, searching for his daughter, relationship with his ex-wife, with her husband, the business deals, his contracts and commitments? The confrontation with the husband? The threat to his daughter?
- The film within the car, his momentary stepping outside the car, the camera within, the focus on the driver, his face, the spaces of the car? The phone? The intensity of the pace, the editing?
- The character of the driver, his background, favours, drinking, the broken marriage, his daughter, business partner? The crime, the murder, driving, getting away, the night?
- The voice, sinister, controlling, knowing everything about the driver, his daughter, statements of detachment? Being present in crises? Control? The psychological pressure, the conversations? Threats and menace yet calm? The directions, the turns, the destinations? The information about his wife, her husband, the death? The taking of the daughter?
- The intensity of pressure, the phone calls, his business associate expecting him to turn up, putting them off? The voice control, excepting calls, refusing calls? The social welfare calls, the information, the appeals? His wife? Her following his directions? Her fate?
- The buildup to saving his daughter, communication with his daughter, his crime, sense of guilt, defiance? Desperation?
