Tender Mercies
Starring: Robert Duvall, Tess Harper, Betty Buckley, Wilford Brimley, Ellen Barkin, Paul Gleason
Directed by: Bruce Beresford
Rating: PG
Genre: Drama
1983

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: A former country singer (Robert Duvall) gets remarried and tries to leave his old life behind.

Review:

Tim: I wasn't sure what to expect with Tender Mercies, but I could not have expected to see such a poignant, powerful movie. I really, really enjoyed this film. I loved that director Bruce Beresford took his time with nearly every aspect of this film. I loved that he didn't need to fill the film with sights and sounds, he kept it minimal and quiet. I loved the story and the characters. This is a great, great movie.

The story is really about Mac Sledge, a former country singer. He bottoms out at the beginning of the film, and starts a new life with Rosa Lee and her son. The rest of the movie explores their relationship, as well as the relationship between Mac, his ex-wife, and his daughter from that union. It's a story about family, about redemption, about the mistakes we make, and the attempt to be better. It's a story about finding a reason to live and love after all our original reasons disappear. I was mesmerized by these characters.

Clearly, the best part of this film is Robert Duvall. It's no surprise that he won an Academy Award for Best Actor. He is incredible in a quiet, restrained way. Not only does he deliver a remarkable performance, but he sang his own songs, and has a pretty incredible voice. I just did not want to take my eyes off Duvall at any point in this film. I've always been a huge fan of his, but this movie takes that to a whole new level. One of my favorite scenes is when he's teaching his new wife's son to play guitar. He's singing and explaining the chords he's playing, and he does it so effortlessly, I honestly believed he was a country singer. It's this quick little scene, but he blew me away.

Now, as good as Duvall is, I have to say that Tess Harper didn't seem like much of an actress to me. Her performance was wooden and unimpressive, and I never really believed her in her role. And yet, despite this, she works very well in the film. She played this quiet, unglamorous woman, and she embodied that perfectly. She came across as simple, and that's exactly what she needed to be. Her character might be simple, but she's a good person with a good heart, and Harper conveyed that brilliantly. While I didn't care for her acting ability, I loved her in this film. Betty Buckley was fine, although a little over-the-top. I always like seeing Wilford Brimley, and Ellen Barkin had a nice, smaller role as well. All in all, the cast of this film is very impressive.

One of the best aspects of this film is how it makes you care about the characters. I'm not talking the normal film amount of caring, but deeply caring about who these people are and what they are going through. Here is an example- there's a scene in the film where Mac contemplates going off the wagon and resuming drinking. The movie does a great job of showing his turmoil, and showing his family at home waiting. Watching Harper look out the window, waiting for her husband to return and unsure of what state he would be in, I genuinely felt trepidation and nervousness for Mac. I so badly wanted him to choose the right path, to stay sober and turn away from the booze that nearly ruined his life. I remember watching the film, and silently pleading with him to come home sober, to make the right choice. That struck me in that moment- I really, honestly cared about these characters on a deep emotional level. That's pretty amazing, and a huge achievement for this film.

In addition to Duvall's Best Actor, this film also won the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay. I certainly concur with this win. In a time when movies seem to be getting bigger and bigger, Tender Mercies finds success by going small. This is a small, quiet, little film. That's one of it's biggest strengths, because in its smallness, it manages to tell this hugely important story about one man's path through life. It is a beautiful, emotional, unforgettable film, and one of the best movies of the early 1980s.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 8



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: Crazy Heart, The Apostle