Movie Review: Mercy Streets

By Donald James Parker  

Double trouble rules the day in this story of twin brothers who go separate ways in life.  One is trying to be ordained as a pastor, and the other is trying to pull a con on a violent con-man and his bumbling associate.  Mistaken Identity Syndrome hits, as usual in stories involving twins, as the good brother is mistaken for the bad one and vice versa.  Talk about culture shock–for both of them.

The best part of this flick is that David A.R White plays the twin brothers.  He is very good at playing both a good and a bad guy.  Eric Roberts had the next biggest role as the criminal mastermind.  Cynthia Watros got the female lead as the white-hatted brother's girl friend.  The most famous member of the cast won his fame in a different arena.   Lawrence Taylor, who put the fear of God in all the quarterbacks and running backs of the National Football League, plays a clergyman.  LT, as he was affectionately known, has appeared in a number of films since he hung up his football cleats.  (And the quarterbacks said 'Amen!')  This role did not give him much of a chance to show what he can do.   Another famous actor who had a minor role in the film is Stacy Keach Jr.  

This story was not the typical goody-two-shoes fare we so often associate with Christian films  There is quite a bit of violence and some hard hitting conversation, albeit without profanity.   In one scene the two brothers actually fight each other, and I couldn't tell which one was the pastor and which one the criminal.  The plot was pretty unique featuring a Sting like con game that takes a bizarre twist.  The love story in this one was also unusual, playing second fiddle to the battle of the brothers, but producing some beautiful music.   

This really is not a film that presents the gospel, opening it up to debate whether it is a 'Christian' movie or not.  We won't go there today. A big focus of this film was brotherly love and guilt.  The pastor is willing to lay down his life for his brother, who hates him.  When they were kids he had run away from a chance to save the wayward brother.  This story could be considered allegorical.  How many of us have failed to help save a potential brother (or sister) in the Lord because of our fear?

This one gets a thumbs-up from me.  Getting a double-dose of David White is worth the price of admission.  He has definitely become one of my favorite actors.  Give this movie a shot, and you might come to possess a similar respect.  I watched about half of the movie again for this review and enjoyed David and the movie even more the second time.   I'd rate it a 4.5 on a five point scale–where five is reserved for only the highest quality.  

About the author:  Donald James Parker is a novelist and computer programmer who resides in Puyallup, Washington.  Check out his website at www.donaldjamesparker.com?tcp.

{mos_fb_discuss:30}