Review of Tender Mercies (1983) by Jennifer A — 26 Mar 2007

[size=2]Duvall's nuanced and heartfelt performance makes Tender Mercies a fince slice of Americana. Review below.

[b]Tender Mercies (1983) - 7.8/10[/b].

Director - Bruce Beresford.

Starring - Robert Duvall, Tess Harper, Betty Buckley, Allan Hubbard, Ellen Barkin, Wilford Brimley, Lenny von Dohlen.

Mac Sledge (Robert Duvall) is an alcoholic drifter, and an ex-country music legend, who wanders into a small Texas town and finds work and board at a small motel/gas station run by a widowed single mother Rosa Lee (Tess Harper). Mac's past soon comes to the forefront as a reporter finds him, and soon he's recognized by local townsfolks. He begins writing songs, and attempts to connect with his ex-wife (Betty Buckley) who he helped make famous, however she is not interested in his songs, or seeing him again. And she specifically doesn't want Mac to see their daughter (Ellen Barkin) who he hasn't seen for 8 years. However Mac must reconcile his past in order to find peace in the present so father and daughter eventually meet.

[i]Tender Mercies [/i]is a simple story of a man whose past has overwhelmed him. Mac Sledge simply drifts about, drowning himself in alcohol, until one woman (Tess Harper) loves him for what he is, not who he was. It's a story about love and redemption, but it flows so naturally thanks to the strong performances by Duvall and Harper, and the skillful direction of Beresford. Most of the film takes place at the gas station/motel Rosa Lee owns, and it's isolation and starkness fits the Duvall character well. The story is deliberately paced avoiding much of the melodrama of similar stories. Oh it has drama, but it feels real. Robert Duvall won an Academy Award for best actor while the screenplay penned by Horton Foote also prevailed. Definitely one of my favorite Duvall performances.

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