The Mercy

The Mercy is an upcoming British biographical drama film, directed by James Marsh and written by Scott Z. Burns. It is based on the true story of the disastrous attempt by the amateur sailor Donald Crowhurst to complete the Sunday Times Golden Globe Race in 1968 and his subsequent attempts to cover up his failure. The film stars Colin Firth, Rachel Weisz, David Thewlis, Ken Stott, and Jonathan Bailey. Principal photography began in the UK on 20 May 2015.

The project was first announced by The Daily Mail in October 2013, as a biopic about yacht-racer Donald Crowhurst, who gave misleading reports of his position in the 1968 Sunday Times Golden Globe Race which implied that he had sailed around the world when he had actually remained in the Atlantic.Scott Z. Burns wrote the screenplay; Colin Firth was reported to be considering portraying Crowhurst and Kate Winslet the role of his wife, Clare. (In the film Colin Firth is 20 years older than Donald Crowhurst, when he goes into the race for the Golden Globe.) On 27 January 2015 it was announced that James Marsh would direct the film, which StudioCanal, Blueprint Pictures, and BBC Films would produce. StudioCanal and BBC would finance the film which had been developed by Christine Langan. StudioCanal would handle the international sales at the European Film Market and would also distribute the film in the UK, France, Germany, Australia and New Zealand. The producers would be Peter Czernin, Graham Broadbent, and Burns, with Nicolas Mauvernay and Jacques Perrin of Galatée Films. On 31 March 2015 Rachel Weisz was reported to be in discussions to play Clare. On 20 May 2015 Weisz was confirmed as Clare, and David Thewlis, Ken Stott and Jonathan Bailey joined the cast. This is the second collaboration of David Thewlis and director James Marsh after The Theory of Everything. Bailey's casting was confirmed by Deadline on 27 May 2015.