Mercy Streets
Encyclopedia
Mercy Streets is a 2000 Christian
action
/drama film
written and directed by Jon Gunn. It starred Eric Roberts
and Stacey Keach, among others.
and Jeremiah (David White), a pastor, who are forced to switch lives. After being released from prison, John is looking to make a new start, and agrees to work for his father figure and mentor Rome (Eric Roberts). When John attempts to double cross
Rome, it sets off a chain reaction
which turns the lives of both brothers into turmoil. While on the run from Rome, John steps into the calm suburban life of his twin brother Jeremiah and turns his good life upside down.
Jeremiah, a well-loved and respected priest
, is forced into the criminal underworld of his brother when he is taken hostage
by Rome and blackmail
ed into taking part in a counterfeit
ing scam. Haunted by the guilt of what he believes to be his brother's death, Jeremiah struggles to atone for his wrongdoing and redeem his faith by going along with the plan. However, Rome's simple plan begins to go horribly wrong when Jeremiah escapes and comes face to face with the brother he thought was dead. They both cannot turn away from the consequence
s of their actions or the love and forgiveness of God.
said, "Despite a competent cast and all the energy Roberts in particular contributes, the filmmakers cannot sustain enough momentum to keep their film from seeming contrived and preachy." Ted Baehr of Movieguide said, "Mercy Streets is a masterful piece of moviemaking with a strong Gospel message."
Christian film
The Christian film industry is an umbrella term for films containing a Christian -themed message or moral, produced by openly Christian filmmakers to a Christian audience....
action
Action film
Action film is a film genre where one or more heroes is thrust into a series of challenges that require physical feats, extended fights and frenetic chases...
/drama film
Drama film
A drama film is a film genre that depends mostly on in-depth development of realistic characters dealing with emotional themes. Dramatic themes such as alcoholism, drug addiction, infidelity, moral dilemmas, racial prejudice, religious intolerance, poverty, class divisions, violence against women...
written and directed by Jon Gunn. It starred Eric Roberts
Eric Roberts
Eric Anthony Roberts is an American actor. His career began with King of the Gypsies , earning a Golden Globe nomination for best actor debut. He starred as the protagonist in the 1980 dramatisation of Willa Cather's 1905 short story, Paul's Case...
and Stacey Keach, among others.
Plot
Mercy Streets is the story of twin brothers, John (David White), a con manConfidence trick
A confidence trick is an attempt to defraud a person or group by gaining their confidence. A confidence artist is an individual working alone or in concert with others who exploits characteristics of the human psyche such as dishonesty and honesty, vanity, compassion, credulity, irresponsibility,...
and Jeremiah (David White), a pastor, who are forced to switch lives. After being released from prison, John is looking to make a new start, and agrees to work for his father figure and mentor Rome (Eric Roberts). When John attempts to double cross
Betrayal
Betrayal is the breaking or violation of a presumptive contract, trust, or confidence that produces moral and psychological conflict within a relationship amongst individuals, between organizations or between individuals and organizations...
Rome, it sets off a chain reaction
Chain reaction
A chain reaction is a sequence of reactions where a reactive product or by-product causes additional reactions to take place. In a chain reaction, positive feedback leads to a self-amplifying chain of events....
which turns the lives of both brothers into turmoil. While on the run from Rome, John steps into the calm suburban life of his twin brother Jeremiah and turns his good life upside down.
Jeremiah, a well-loved and respected priest
Priest
A priest is a person authorized to perform the sacred rites of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particular, rites of sacrifice to, and propitiation of, a deity or deities...
, is forced into the criminal underworld of his brother when he is taken hostage
Hostage
A hostage is a person or entity which is held by a captor. The original definition meant that this was handed over by one of two belligerent parties to the other or seized as security for the carrying out of an agreement, or as a preventive measure against certain acts of war...
by Rome and blackmail
Blackmail
In common usage, blackmail is a crime involving threats to reveal substantially true or false information about a person to the public, a family member, or associates unless a demand is met. It may be defined as coercion involving threats of physical harm, threat of criminal prosecution, or threats...
ed into taking part in a counterfeit
Counterfeit
To counterfeit means to illegally imitate something. Counterfeit products are often produced with the intent to take advantage of the superior value of the imitated product...
ing scam. Haunted by the guilt of what he believes to be his brother's death, Jeremiah struggles to atone for his wrongdoing and redeem his faith by going along with the plan. However, Rome's simple plan begins to go horribly wrong when Jeremiah escapes and comes face to face with the brother he thought was dead. They both cannot turn away from the consequence
Consequentialism
Consequentialism is the class of normative ethical theories holding that the consequences of one's conduct are the ultimate basis for any judgment about the rightness of that conduct...
s of their actions or the love and forgiveness of God.
Cast
- Eric RobertsEric RobertsEric Anthony Roberts is an American actor. His career began with King of the Gypsies , earning a Golden Globe nomination for best actor debut. He starred as the protagonist in the 1980 dramatisation of Willa Cather's 1905 short story, Paul's Case...
as Rome - David A.R. WhiteDavid A.R. WhiteDavid Andrew Roy White, also known as David White, is an American actor, screenwriter and producer. He grew up in a small farming town that was located outside of Dodge City, Kansas. He is a co-founder of Pure Flix Entertainment, a distribution and production company...
as John / Jeremiah - Cynthia WatrosCynthia WatrosCynthia Michele Watros is an American television actress, who also starred in films and on stage. She is known for her roles as Libby on the ABC TV series Lost, Kellie in The Drew Carey Show, Erin in Titus, and Annie Dutton in Guiding Light...
as Sam - Shiek Mahmud-Bey as Tex
- Lawrence Taylor as Dan
- Stacy KeachStacy KeachStacy Keach is an American actor and narrator. He is most famous for his dramatic roles; however, he has done narration work in educational programming on PBS and the Discovery Channel, as well as some comedy and musical...
as Tom - Robert LaSardoRobert LaSardoRobert LaSardo is an American actor.LaSardo began his career studying at the famed High School of Performing Arts in New York City, before going on to the Stella Adler Studio of Acting. Robert also spent four years in the U.S...
as TJ - Lisa Furst as Sunny
- Kevin DownesKevin DownesKevin Downes is an American actor, writer, producer and director. Downes grew up in Visalia, 3 hours north of Los Angeles. Most of the Christian films he participated in were shot there....
as Peter - Robert Lyon Rasner as Concerned Passerby
Reception
Kevin Thomas of the Los Angeles TimesLos Angeles Times
The Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....
said, "Despite a competent cast and all the energy Roberts in particular contributes, the filmmakers cannot sustain enough momentum to keep their film from seeming contrived and preachy." Ted Baehr of Movieguide said, "Mercy Streets is a masterful piece of moviemaking with a strong Gospel message."
External links
- Mercy Streets at ChristianCinema.comChristianCinema.comChristianCinema.com, Inc. is a Christian film production company founded in 1999, by brothers Bobby Downes and Kevin Downes. In addition, the website reviews both theatrical and DVD released movies , carries news articles about Christian film and media, and often interviews filmmakers...