CineVegas 2009

John is a novelist who writes about love…even though he's never been in love. In fact, he's pretty sure that love doesn't exist. Yet that doesn't keep him from leading a seemingly fulfilling bachelors lifestyle and honing his seduction skills to an art form. That's until he meets Mercy. A critic who writes a scathing review of his latest book, Mercy sees through John's "teetering on charming" exterior and into his shallow, egotistical core. In spite of these circumstances, or perhaps because of them, he asks her out. She says yes. Miraculously, their relationship blossoms into something very real and John begins to open up to love and life. Yet, in doing so, he exposes himself to the potential perils that come with the "L" word.

Written by and starring Scott Caan, MERCY is distinctly contemporary in its setting and characters yet harkens back to love stories of old with its unabashed romanticism. Caan's writing has an intimate quality that enables him to drop in small but pertinent insights then let the ripples spread through the story. Director Patrick Hoelck employs a winning mix of luscious cinematography and low-key naturalism to excavate that strange mix of confidence, longing and denial that underpins a certain strain of male psyche. With a tone that is romantic yet authentic, Caan and Hoelck create a charmingly comic but intensely moving story about finding oneself in love.