The most romantic thing in this movie is an argument about the death penalty. The second most romantic thing is what happens when the argument runs out of breath.
What happens in My Days of Mercy
Tali Shalom-Ezer directed it, and Mara and Elliot Page produced it themselves. Mercy comes from a staunchly pro-capital-punishment family. Lucy wants the practice abolished and has the most personal reason imaginable: her father is waiting to be executed. Mr. Skin calls their situation “Romeo and Juliet-esque,” which is generous to Romeo.
At 00:56:47, just shy of the hour, they stop debating and kiss. Shirts come off, they move to the bed, and the rest is implied with hands rather than stunt choreography. For the first time on screen, the body you’re seeing is really Kate Mara’s. The next morning is better still. At 01:03:31 Mercy is on top in daylight, both of them topless, trading places like a couple who’ve stopped keeping score, and at 01:04:25 they’re simply lying there, in no hurry at all. Somewhere offscreen an execution date is still coming. In here, for a few minutes, it isn’t.
Why does it look so unforced? Mara credits the friendship: “it’s because we’re friends that we’re so comfortable with each other, and it feels easy and you have an instant connection and trust.” IndieWire credited the paperwork: “their producer credits make the concept of actors having agency during sex scenes more than mere lip service.” Hollywood spent a century telling actresses what their bodies were for. Here, two actors hired themselves and decided.
She was 33 when filming began in September 2016. It sits first on our Kate Mara scene rankings. For the years when a stand-in did this part of the job, read about the House of Cards season 2 shower.
Film: My Days of Mercy (2017) · premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival, September 2017 · directed by Tali Shalom-Ezer · Kate Mara as Mercy, Elliot Page (credited as Ellen Page) as Lucy; Mara and Page also produced
All Kate Mara scenes
1Now watchingLove Scenes My Days of Mercy- 2Bedroom Scene House of Cards S1E7
- 3Photo Scene (body double) House of Cards S1E5
- 4Against the Wall House of Cards S1E9
- 5Shower Walk (body double) House of Cards S2E1
Back to the hub: Kate Mara nude: every scene, ranked.