My Days of Mercy

Two young women on opposite sides of America's capital punishment debate find romantic attraction adding another layer to their complex lives in this US indie debut from Israeli director Tali Shalom-Ezer. Ellen Page (before they became known as Elliot Page) thrives in a demanding dramatic role as the middle one of three working-class siblings who travel to executions across the US in order to protest against judicial killing. It's at one of these gatherings that they encounter lawyer Kate Mara among the supporters of the death penalty, but a certain spark between them proves difficult to resist. There's quite an involved background here, which the film patiently reveals, delivering an ultimately touching account of how the small-town stigma surrounding same-sex relationships only makes things tougher for those in embattled circumstances. Page, as ever, scores with the script's waspish wit, but there's an emotional depth here, too, adding an affecting undertow to a poised, thoughtful and ideologically even-handed piece of storytelling.