By Hanna Rantala
LONDON, Jan 20 ((Reuters)) – Thriller “Mercy” imagines a near future where the justice system is powered by artificial intelligence and suspects are presumed guilty unless they can prove their innocence. In a violence-ridden Los Angeles in 2029, police detective Chris Raven (Chris Pratt) wakes up in a stupor, shackled to a chair, facing the AI judge Maddox (Rebecca Ferguson) that he helped create. Raven is accused of murdering his wife and has 90 minutes to prove his innocence or he will be executed on the spot. The Timur Bekmambetov-directed movie felt like a theatre play said Pratt and Ferguson, who were split up on separate stages, communicating via earpieces and acting out 40-50-minute long scenes. “I’ve never played a robot or AI, tapping into human emotions,” said Ferguson. “The conversations that came with that, it was really fun.” “For me, being confined to a chair was something that was different. I’m a pretty physical person,” said Pratt, who asked to get strapped in for takes. “I found it helpful because I truly felt I could fight against it, and felt even more claustrophobic.” To portray the motionless Maddox, who mimics humans, Bekmambetov gave Ferguson a chart of emotions. “He would say, ‘I want you to smile at the oddest moment’,” she said. “There wasn’t that much for me to work with, other than behind the eyes.” Maddox has access to the city’s cloud, to which all citizens are legally obligated to connect their devices, and which Raven can use to try to exonerate himself. Shot in Bekmambetov’s “screenlife” style, much of the film’s action takes place on displays. As Maddox and Raven scour social media accounts, surveillance feeds, police body cameras, doorbell recorders and databases, the images are blasted on the futuristic courtroom’s walls. Pratt believes the film’s immersive nature will make audiences question their own behaviour. “They’re going to probably be thinking, ‘I’ve etched each of my actions in digital stone over the past 12-15 years. If I’m ever put in a position where this could be used against me, there’s a lot of stuff out there,” he said. “You’re kind of on the same journey with my character. As I’m defending myself, you’re sort of defending your own actions,” said Pratt. “It’s like your life is being thrown at you. It’s a little bit jarring.” “Mercy” begins its global theatrical rollout on Thursday.
(Reporting by Hanna Rantala, Editing by Nick Zieminski)
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