THE BIG MOVIE

THE MERCY

(2017) 12 ◆

Saturday, 8.35pm, BBC2 ★★★★ James Marsh, who won an Oscar for his 2008 documentary Man On Wire, is in the director’s chair for this biographical drama – one of two on the same subject, made around the same time – about the sailor Donald Crowhurst. Colin Firth (above) stars as the British businessman who, inspired by the achievements of pioneering sailor Francis Chichester, decides to enter a round-the-world solo yacht race in 1968. Crowhurst is in financial difficulty, and hopes that his participation in the race will bring him and his business some muchneeded publicity. But first, he has to find a sponsor, whose support could cost him dear. Firth delivers a typically powerful yet understated performance in this true-life tale of determination – and disaster.