This was something I got through in one sitting whilst feeling like Old Yeller. This is an incredibly dynamic film that sympathetically captures some of the context behind retaliatory mass-murder.
In terms of strange observations; the idea that gym-teachers could work to manipulate/label potentially harmful pupils was brought to mind.
Where sports coaches are concerned, though, you could regard their endorsement of infantile bullying to come as a result of them being academically inferior to their working colleagues.
Almost Mercy is as comedic as it is hard-hitting; and one could go as far as suggesting that it surpasses Elephant (not because it isn’t based around real life tragedies, either.)
One of the negative connotations of this film is profiling, though. Certain people are already scapegoated resultant of their upbringing and the depictions on screen shouldn’t be a reason to demonize those of similar backgrounds; but rather, address the institutional flaws that render similar people misanthropic.
Emily’s narration and overall character during this film is as hilarious as it is depressing. She’s one of the best horror heroine’s I’ve come across in recent years – she’s integral to the film.
Children often lack the experience to emotionally process trauma and as a result such individuals often end up naturally repressing their capacity for empathy – (pedantic psychological definitions are not my field, though) and the two leads do care for one another; (making Prime’s synopsis of it rather inaccurate) and such blanket terms are exactly why such personalities end up polarized in the first place.
The frustrating circumstances presented here provide you insight into two sane individuals (whom during the onset of the movie are victims, both of their family and the microcosm they inhabit at large.)
Really, the two murders are nowhere near as sadistic as the hereditary collectives who continually infringe upon them – and ascertaining this was rather jarring; I’d hate to think about how relative this is to real life…
One film cannot cover how every individual is to some extent shaped by circumstance; but where one of the childhood bullies are concerned; it does promote some degree of introspection in regards to pragmatics endorsing young children to bully others. Mercy’s narration of this is beautifully sassy; alongside all else she does.
The scope Almost Mercy attempts to cover is amazingly executed; it’s like an artistic massacre of the groups that push such murderers to the point of no return (or remorse.) It covers organized religion, education and all things judicial in its eighty minute runtime.
The dynamic between disabled people and their caregivers is put forward in a sensitive manner that’s often disregarded – that being that the suffering of the disadvantaged person leads them into garnering some malicious enjoyment out of treating their children like employed subordinates.
Violence and the idea of what constitutes dirty fighting is determined only by the injured parties and one scene drives this home particularly well.
The leading male winning a three vs one fight by any means still works to damage how people treat him; with the majority still sympathizing with the bullies. One could find this to be funny/ironic but unfortunately, it’s rather accurate.
Emily’s narration seems to also be a plot device used to undermine other films of a similar vein; dispelling cliches with her own cynicism whilst the film still occasionally falls into them – whilst it by no means takes itself too seriously; it’s still truer to life than most other features attempting to empathize/profiteer off of the world’s state of affairs.
I don’t feel like ruining the second half of this film; but it does carry a very malevolent message into how retribution can be better accomplished by such ruthless individuals. It really is something special.
There’s no need for this post to be dedicated to anyone. You know.
Sedlo