Kailansorac Clever, believable, and super fun to watch. It totally has replay value.

AnhartLinkin This story has more twists and turns than a second-rate soap opera.

StyleSk8r At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.

Fleur Actress is magnificent and exudes a hypnotic screen presence in this affecting drama.

celenazinc I got about halfway through this movie and was very disappointed. It was just flat out boring and completely unrealistic. I can get past being unrealistic in a lot of movies, but not when it's supposed to be a crime drama thing. The evidence collection and interview processes were just plain oddball. I started fast forwarding to see how it ended. And then got bored with that and just turned it off and returned it. The main character, played by Ellen Barkin, just wasn't believable at all. Peta Wilson acted very well in this film, but her character was way out there and there wasn't anyone for her acting talents to play off of that made it work.

mgangadeen I rather enjoyed this movie. I thought the acting was very good. It kept me alert, and thinking throughout. THIS IS NOT A FILM ABOUT lesbianism at all. What I do think, it has a lot more to do with "bondage" "s/m". If your looking for kinky lesbian sex, your not going to experience it here. However, if your looking for a movie that dabbles, in the minds of certain main stream adults who have hang-ups with sex and pain, then this may be entertaining for you. Ellen Barkin, was perfect for this role, her facial expression told her story before her mouth moved. yet you weren't quite sure if she was wondering out loud on the fact that she may like this alternative life style. Peta Wilson, also did a tremendous job in role playing in this film. Im serious wondering, why I havent seen her in more films. She was utterly convincing, and beautifully attired in this movie. All in all a good movie, that I will view again in the near future.

david melville POSSIBLE SPOILERS - PROCEED WITH CAUTION!If Basic Instinct were a half-way decent film, it might almost be Mercy - a sick by stylish stew of rough sex, serial murder and lesbian chic. In place of the odious and homophobic detective played by Michael Douglas, this film gives us the feisty and fabulous Ellen Barkin. As a hard-bitten homicide cop investigating the S&M killings of glamorous bisexual women, Barkin is not a sleazy and self-righteous voyeur like the Douglas character. Rather, her close emotional involvement with one of the suspects (Peta Wilson) forces her to question her own sexuality, to iron out a few of her own hidden kinks.Whether or not Barkin's character is a long-term lesbian, it's easy enough to see how she could fall for Wilson. This Australian model bears an eerie resemblance to Gwyneth Paltrow, but differs from the Oscar-laden star in two vital ways. Firstly, she has innate elegance and glamour. Secondly, she can act. (Sorry, but nothing and nobody could make me sit through Shakespeare in Love a second time!) As an unofficial 'den mother' to this coven of deeply twisted ladies, that gorgeous and golden-haired sex god Julian Sands dons mascara and a frock as Dr. Dominick Broussard - a kinky psychotherapist who dresses up in drag to seduce his lesbian patients!As you've probably gathered by now, nobody involved in the making of Mercy could ever be accused of 'good taste'. Scenes of bondage and razor-slashing in the S&M dungeons of Toronto (of all places!) are amazingly graphic for a mainstream movie. There's a sub-plot involving paedophilia, plus a deranged ex-Vietnam sniper who acts out 'pretend' murders for kicks. Perhaps it's all for the best that director Damian Harris has a quirky style akin to that of David Cronenberg - visually elegant, yet chilly and restrained. This sense of distance undercuts any hint of sleaze or sensationalism. Our involvement in the warped psychology of these characters is always stronger than our morbid curiosity about 'who is doing what to whom'.If you have a strong stomach and an interest in the 'dark side' of human sexuality - or if you're a fan of Barkin or Sands, both superb actors who have been chronically underrated and underused - then Mercy is a film you must see. If not...well, maybe you'd be happier watching Shakespeare in Love.David Melville

Alan Deikman (Alan-40) A rather dark murder mystery with very few warm moments in it. I rented it because I'm a Peta Wilson fan (as well as an Ellen Barkin fan) but it was hard to watch Peta's character without thinking of her Femme Nikita character. For one thing, Ellen should take some lessons in kickboxing from Peta.That aside, this movie works like a good detective novel, keeping you turning to the next page. I didn't spot the culprit until well late in the movie; a good sign. The gratuitous sex stuff that others are complaining about are just part of the mood, part of the reason that the characters keep hiding their motivations. Everyone has something to hide.However, the legion of pawing and naked women this movie presents does not do as much to move this idea along as Julian Sands as the dark-side headshrink. Well worth the rental fee.