It deals successfully with several difficult issues including family violence, the death penalty and acceptance of homosexuality. The sex scenes are not exploitative. They needed to be included in order to demonstrate that this is a legitimate way that brings two people together and doesn’t need to remain concealed. Also smart is the way crime is approached. We can disagree with executing the killers without believing that they were falsely accused.

Great acting by Page, Mara and Amy Seimetz. The film explores the complexity of the death penalty in subtle ways through a love story. It's a little slow at times but the pace is deliberate and well intended.

Come for the 'death penalty debate' and stay for the romance.... or come for the romance and stay for the death penalty argument.... either way it's highly watchable. actually, come to think of it, it's more of a sideways look at capital punishment with a romance thrown in, buoyed by great performances from the two protagonists Mara and Page, with just as many plaudits for the supporting cast. Standard US indie no, even if the girl-meets-girl hits standard romance tropes, your eyes are opened to the prison conundrum even if your mind isn't.

What a great story about when opposite sides of the death penalty meet. Loved it.

“So where did you two meet?”

A little too scattered

Gotta say, strong performances all across the board with a heavy yet heartfelt, tragic story to tell.

The incredible chemistry of Mara & Page are irresistible. Watching them on screen you remember what falling in love is like no matter how long it's been.

The stars have great chemistry and their performances are at the top of their game.

The chemistry between Ellen Page and Kate Mara sells this movie. The morale question of capital punishment is entwined in a believable tail of love, loyalty and loss.

I really enjoyed this movie, heavy subject matter and I don't think I have cried so much at the end of a movie for a long time but over all a really good movie and excellent performances.

Blown away by both Ellen Page and Kate Mara. Such a fragile and emotional love story, set in the worst of circumstances. Acted with humanity and heart aching sincerity.

I gave this one all five tomatoes. It was very special.

Well-worth your time.

Now this was an odd one. I don't know if I've really seen a movie in which the message is "When it comes to the death penalty, a centrist view is what's best". I've defintely never seen a movie in which that is the core of the movie from start to end, and that movie is a romance. Salvaged by the 110% believable performances given by both leads.

The best thing about this film was the seemingly effortless chemistry between the two leads, Ellen Page and Kate Mara. However, the film as a whole was pretty average. An interesting topic but a little contrived and unrealistic at times. It also felt a little messy, like too much was going on all at once which took some focus away from the central storyline. Still, not a bad film. Gentle and charming.

This movie makes my heart swim. I love it. I love Lucy and her walls and her humor. I love that she's sarcastic and funny and smart and very very soft and vulnerable at the same time. I don't see many characters - male or female - get to be all these things and still be so solid. Unlike this review! I have lots of inarticulate feelings about it okay! I guess, the essence of what I'm trying to say is, this film felt like a shadow of how I feel I live in the world. It felt comforting in it's familiarity. I'm very grateful for that.

Outstanding relationship drama that gets carried by its strong lead performers Ellen Page and Kate Mara, that never gets boring or even tedious about the subject it tries to cover next to the romance. Strong and quite bold.

Pretentious, diluted soft-core lesbian porn at best. Awful time-waster, at least for Blobbo.

Spell-bounding. engaging. compelling. well written. dramatic. heartwarming. strong challenging background story. reminds us how death penalty impacts those far beyond death row. I echo Susan G. Cole "Joe Barton's script, especially the dialogue between the two lovers about capital punishment, is pointed and very smart, and he knows how to let information trickle out at the right pace." I echo Rachel Brook "A triumphant female-led film (Ellen Page and Kate Mara) , Mercy soars on the weight of its triptych of great performances, but isn't ballsy enough with its provocative premise."