Review of Tender Mercies (1983) by Donna H — 26 Dec 2011

This is another little gem that deserves more attention than it got when it came out. It's very minimalist-- no big special effects, no dramatic fight scenes. Just a gentle and sincere story of a couple of ordinary people (one is a formerly famous singer who lost it all due to alcoholism; one is a young widow trying to make sense of a world where her husband was killed in Vietnam and she was left to support herself and her son).

Duvall, a great actor, even learned how to play country music to make his role as down-on-his-luck singer Mac Sledge more realistic. Music is the soundtrack of Mac's life, letting him express what he cannot easily say.

You will find yourself drawn to these characters-- Mac's struggle with faith and his effort to rebuild his life is only one subplot, as is his conflicted relationship with his ex-wife and daughter.

This movie offers no easy answers to life's big questions, but you will come away from it with a new-found respect for human resilience and how music (and love) can help us get through even the most difficult times.