Watching Mercy Road four times

The Australian film Mercy Road is the only film I was scheduled to see at MIFF but didn't actually see. One other film (Banel & Adama) got moved to a different night, but Mercy Road is the only one I had to cancel due to a scheduling conflict. (In fact, my Mercy Road ticket became my Banel & Adama ticket, before my Banel & Adama ticket became my Banel & Adama ticket on a different night.)

I've seen it now thanks to a screener link in advance of its theatrical release next Thursday. Ordinarily I would have watched it a little closer to that release date, but the link expires on Sunday and I'll be out of town for two of the four remaining nights before then. 

The early expiration isn't the only unusual thing about the Mercy Road link. The other unusual thing is that it's good for four views.

I know we critics are supposed to take our jobs seriously, but watching something four times is a bit much -- even if it is only 85 minutes.

There are likely explanations for this generosity in the quantity of views. For example, perhaps a single view is registered if you inadvertently press play on it and then stop and start over again. I don't know how a view is determined and they want to guard against the technical incompetence of especially the older critics.

But I do think there is at least the suggestion that you might watch this film, in part or in total, four times in order to analyze it perfectly before you write about it.

Some critics may have the time for that. I do not.

Because we certainly know the movie isn't for sharing with friends. In fact, this particular screener link is the only one I can remember ever having received that had my email address burned into the upper right hand corner of the screen, so that the lower half of a g just barely hung into the actual picture. If it gets pirated, they'll know exactly at whom to point the finger.

To the credit of John Curran's film, something did happen at the end of this movie -- which takes place almost entirely inside a single car, Locke-style -- that made me want to go back and watch it a second time. But then detracting a little of that credit, the urge to revisit what I'd seen stemmed not from missing clues they had cleverly dropped in the narrative, but rather, a potential incoherence to the storytelling. I can tell you that I googled "Mystery Road ending explained" after I finished, and because the movie isn't actually out yet, well, I didn't get my answer.

I probably won't watch it that second time, and just write my review based on what I did glean from the first viewing.

And viewings three and four will just disappear into the ether.