Mercenary Netflix Movie Review

Mercenary [Mercenaire] (2016)

Mercenary - The Rudy of rugby looks at culture but doesn't go far enough.

Watch Mercenary on Netflix
Written by: Sacha Wolff (screenplay)
Directed by: Sacha Wolff
Starring: Toki Pilioko, Iliana Zabeth, Mikaele Tuugahala
Rated: --/TV-MA

Plot
Soane defies his father to play rugby in France, starting a new life from scratch in a foreign world.

Verdict
This got better as it went along, but it's still a typical finding yourself movie. The character of Soane was quite thin until the last quarter of the movie. It's framed by  cultural traditions that just don't have enough context. This has all the piece, but doesn't come together. It is a sub-titled French language film
Skip it.

Review
Sacha Wolff chose non-actors for the roles which shows with Toki Pilioko who plays Soane, though he does get better as  the movie goes on. For the first half, it feels like the actor doesn't know what to do more than it being a character trait. While it could be a directorial choice to illustrate that Soane is in a radically different environment and lacks confidence, it seemed really odd. Once Soane came into his own, the last quarter of this movie is pretty good, but it's tough to wait for that part. This is similar to Rudy (1993), but without the heart and huge emotional moments.

I understand being tied to your family and traditions, but the context was missing. The cultural traditions aren't given enough explanation. Soane almost seems simple, though we know that's not it. He defies his father, wanting to play rugby in France, and his father banishes him. Soane gets to France and the promised position on a pro rugby team doesn't follow. He's in a foreign country with absolutely nothing, he has no job, family, or belongings.

Soane manages to begin building a life, but he's a go with the flow character which makes him bland. He's not just socially awkward or repressed, he often just stands in a scene looking at his feet. I get the intention, but the scenes are so tepid they're boring.

The passage of time isn't clearly delineated, but Soane makes a life. He gets a pro contract and a girlfriend, but the man that paid to bring him to France wants to continue extorting Soane. Being Wallisian, it feels like the rugby clubs subtlety discriminate against him.

This gets much more interesting when Soane develops agency. He stands up to a teammate and puts a stop to the French guy that wants money out of him. While I liked this more towards the end, that doesn't overcome the slow start.