Mercy Streets (PG-13)
18/08/13 23:50 Filed in: 2000
Starring: Eric Roberts
October 2000
A low-budget affair that tells a decent story despite its monetary restrictions, Mercy Streets is a religious film that doesn’t pound you over the head with its moral lesson, but rather, shows real people in real-life situations. David White, in a dual role, does a good job of playing the “good brother, bad brother” scenario: wayward John, pressured into doing “one last job” for nefarious Rome (Eric Roberts), accidentally trades places with his priest brother, Jeremiah, who ends up taking the rap for John. Excellent guest performances by Cynthia Watros (The Drew Carey Show), Stacy Keach and even Lawrence Taylor salvage the movie from the typical B movie slag-heap. The “anatomy of a heist” sequence is brilliant, especially the freeze-frame shot, but the final scene is nearly identical to the dénouement in Ocean’s Eleven.
Rating: 2 1/2