Mercury in Retrograde is a 2017 American drama film written and directed by Michael Glover Smith, and starring French actress Roxane Mesquida. The film follows three couples from Chicago as they navigate personal challenges while vacationing together for a weekend in southwestern Michigan. The film premiered at the 2017 Full Bloom Film Festival in Statesville, North Carolina where it won the Best Narrative Feature award.[2]
| Mercury in Retrograde | |
|---|---|
 theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Michael Glover Smith |
| Written by | Michael Glover Smith |
| Produced by | Shane Simmons Kevin Wright |
| Starring | Roxane Mesquida Najarra Townsend |
| Cinematography | Jason Chiu |
| Edited by | Frank V. Ross |
| Distributed by | Emphasis Entertainment[1] |
Release date | September 16, 2017 (Full Bloom Film Festival) |
Running time | 105 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
Plot edit
Three couples from Chicago vacation together for a weekend at a lakeside cabin in Michigan: Isabelle and Richard have been together for five years and are deeply unhappy; Jack and Golda have been happily married for 10 years; and Peggy and Wyatt just started dating and don't yet know each other well. Over the course of three days in this relationship drama, hidden tensions and secrets slowly come to the surface.[3]
Background and production edit
In an interview at RogerEbert.com, Smith discussed the notion of vacations being "anything but an escape" as the impetus for the film: "The fact that the characters are away from their daily routine serves as a catalyst to examine their lives and relationships. These couples are interacting with each other [in this new setting] and it forces them to see their own relationships in a new light". He also mentioned German director F. W. Murnau as an influence, noting how the films Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans and City Girl are "about couples moving from either the city to the country or vice versa, and about the kind of psychological shift that occurs to accompany the geographical shift".[4]
Production of the film took place over two weeks in Chicago and Fennville, Michigan in August 2016.[5]
Cast edit
- Roxane Mesquida as Isabelle
- Najarra Townsend as Peggy
- Alana Arenas as Golda
- Jack C. Newell as Jack
- Shane Simmons as Wyatt
- Kevin Wehby as Richard
Release edit
Among the film's theatrical screenings: Spectacle Theater in Brooklyn,[6] Rooftop Cinema Club NeueHouse in Los Angeles,[7] and the Gene Siskel Film Center and the Music Box Theatre's "Virtual Cinema" (after the COVID-19 pandemic) in Chicago,[8][9] as well as the Tallahassee Film Festival (where it won the award for Best Narrative Feature).[10]
Home Video edit
Emphasis Entertainment Group released a special edition Blu-ray of the film on September 6, 2019.[11] It was announced in 2021 that Music Box Films had acquired VOD rights for their Music Box Direct streaming service.[12]
Reception edit
Mercury in Retrograde has received generally favorable reviews for its writing, acting, and directing. Among the positive notices were a three-star review by the Chicago Sun-Times' Richard Roeper who called it "absolutely beautiful...a smart, funny, quietly effective and authentic slice of older millennial life",[13] and a Chicago Reader review that deemed it "an observant, nuanced indie".[14] As of May 2021, Rotten Tomatoes shows an approval rating of 71%, based on seven reviews.[15]
External links edit
- Cast and director interviews at Indie Outlook.
- Mercury in Retrograde at IMDb
- Offscreen interview with Michael Glover Smith
References edit
- ^ "Mercury in Retrograde".
- ^ Festival, Full Bloom Film. "FULL BLOOM FILM FESTIVAL SEPTEMBER 9 - 11, 2021". Full Bloom Film Festival. Retrieved 2021-05-07.
- ^ "Mercury in Retrograde | Music Box Theatre". musicboxtheatre.com. Retrieved 2021-05-07.
- ^ Liebenson, Donald. "Interview: Chicago Filmmaker Michael Glover Smith on Mercury in Retrograde". Roger Ebert. Retrieved 2021-05-07.
- ^ Metz, Nina. "Filmmaker's focus: People, not plot - West". digitaledition.chicagotribune.com. Retrieved 2021-05-07.
- ^ "AN EVENING WITH MICHAEL GLOVER SMITH – Spectacle Theater". Retrieved 2021-05-07.
- ^ "Mercury in Retrograde (2019)". Rooftop Cinema Club. Retrieved 2021-05-07.
- ^ "Gene Siskel Film Center Gazette: February 2018" (PDF). www.siskelfilmcenter.org. February 1, 2018.
- ^ "Mercury in Retrograde | Music Box Theatre". musicboxtheatre.com. Retrieved 2021-05-07.
- ^ Festival, Tallahassee Film (2018-03-29). "And the Winners are…". Tallahassee Film Festival. Retrieved 2021-05-08.
- ^ "SCREEN | Rooftop Cinema in LA, Special Edition Release for Chicago-Made MERCURY IN RETROGRADE, starring Roxane Mesquida | February 2021 Stories". screenmag.com. Retrieved 2021-05-07.
- ^ "Mercury in Retrograde". musicboxdirect.com. Retrieved 2021-05-07.
- ^ Roeper, Richard (2018-02-15). "'Mercury in Retrograde': Saugatuck trip an eye-opener in slice-of-life drama". Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved 2021-05-07.
- ^ Gronvall, Andrea (15 February 2018). "Mercury in Retrograde". Chicago Reader. Retrieved 2021-05-07.
- ^ Mercury in Retrograde (2017), retrieved 2021-05-07