Filmmaker Timur Bekmambetov seems determined to make us look at screens when we go to the movies. Several of his films, including Unfriended, Searching and Profile (he produced the first two and directed the third), helped popularise the trend of so-called “screenlife” movies, in which the action is shown entirely via screens of one type or another (the horribly bad yet hilarious War of the Worlds movie from 2025 is the worst of these). He branches out a little with his latest effort, starring Chris Pratt as a man on trial for the alleged murder of his wife, with his fate to be decided by an artificial intelligence (AI) judge. Unfortunately, Mercy still contains so much footage shot from the perspective of doorbell cams, body cameras, drone cameras, iPhones, etc., that it should be avoided by anyone suffering from screen addiction—which these days is pretty much everybody.

Bekmambetov does his screenlife schtick here as well, but what he mostly gives us is Pratt strapped to a chair for much of the film’s running time as his character, Chris Raven, desperately attempts to prove his innocence to the impassive Judge Maddox. Maddox, played by Rebecca Ferguson in an appropriately poker-face fashion, is an AI creation, one that Raven formerly championed as a police detective in a Los Angeles that has become hopelessly crime-ridden. The film is set in 2029, a mere three years from now, demonstrating an optimism about the potential of AI that this writer does not share.

Raven wakes up after an alcohol-fueled blackout in the “Mercy Chair,” which conveniently features an attachment capable of instantly killing him if he’s found guilty. He doesn’t remember anything that happened the morning before, when he supposedly killed his wife (Annabelle Wallis), but he has 90 minutes to prove his innocence to the unyielding AI judge, who has access to all the video footage in the world to either support or counter his arguments.

Like a contestant on Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?, Raven has opportunities to phone his friends (via video screens, naturally). He reaches out to his teenage daughter, Britt (Kylie Rogers, from Yellowstone), to proclaim his innocence; to his friend, Rob (Chris Sullivan, from This Is Us), in search of answers; and to his police partner, Jaq (Kali Reis, from True Detective Night Country), to help track down the real murderer. It’s eventually revealed that his wife has been having an affair, which unfortunately only provides a motive for him to have killed her.

The constant use of low-res footage quickly proves wearisome, with the film’s three credited editors working their hardest to make it all look dynamic. Toward the end, Mercy does feature a very well-orchestrated, exciting truck-and-car chase through the streets of Los Angeles, which feels like eating a sweet dessert after a bland meal.

While Pratt can be effective in the right vehicle (Jurassic World, Guardians of the Galaxy), he’s very dependent on his athletic physicality. Watching him as he sits motionless in a chair for nearly 90 minutes, not able to resort to the humour with which he often peppers his performances, mainly serves as a demonstration of his limitations as an actor. Ferguson comes off much better, especially when she subtly reveals the hints of emotionality that begin to seep into her character’s data-driven persona.

Taking place in real time, Mercy mercifully moves along fairly briskly. But after it’s over, you’ll definitely feel the need for a digital detox.

4/10 I fully admit to nearly dozing off 4 times.

Bolu
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Boluwatife Adesina is a media writer and the helmer of the Downtown Review page. He’s probably in a cinema near you.