[.ca] Tender Mercies (Widescreen)

From Amazon.co.uk:
Sometimes everything comes together in a movie and it becomes something so much greater than the sum of its parts that it can only be described as a miracle. That's the case with Tender Mercies, a quietly luminous character piece about an alcoholic, washed-up country singer named Mac Sledge (Robert Duvall in an Oscar-winning performance) who hits bottom in a motel room one night and then slowly finds his way back into the land of the living with the help of the widow (Tess Harper) and her young son. It's a low-key, contemplative film that feels like a rural American family comedy in the vein of the great Japanese director, Yasujiro Ozu. Tender Mercies was directed by Australian Bruce Beresford (Driving Miss Daisy, Breaker Morant), written by Horton Foote (To Kill a Mockingbird), who won an Oscar for his screenplay, and has an unbeatable cast. This is one of Duvall's most intimate and deeply personal performances, matched only by his debut 14 years later as actor-writer-director in The Apostle. --Jim Emerson

a must see!:
I agree with the fact that this film was not a box-office blockbuster but it was just as well because when I saw it the theater was not filled which is the way I like it. In any case, I bought the DVD and watch it over and over. Duvall's singing was a surprise, not as good as Sissy Spacek's in Coal Miner's Daughter, but good enough for a small Texas bar. Another movie that I compare this to was Murphy's Romance with Sally Field and James Garner (Garner was nominated for an Oscar, I believe, the same year as Harrison Ford in Witness and William Hurt in Kiss of the Spider Woman.) This film has a sort of switched-roll theme on Tender Mercies with Sally Field as the down-on-her-luck woman who meets a stable, older man. Also a fantastic film as far as it's character study. See both if you can.

SIMPLE GENIUS:
ROBERT DUVALL WON THE BEST ACTOR OSCAR FOR HIS ROLE IN THIS LITTLE FILM AND RIGHTFULLY SO. HORTON FOOTES SIMPLE SCRIPT ALONG WITH NORTH TEXAS FLATLANDS FRAME THIS POIGNANT TALE OF AN ON THE SKIDS ONE TIME SOMEBODY IN THE WORLD OF COUNTRY MUSIC. ENTER MAC SLEDGE, DOWN AND OUT DRUNKARD WHO CANT EVEN PAY HIS MOTEL BILL. HE ELECTS TO WORK IT OFF AND FALLS IN LOVE WITH THE WIDOWED MOTHER/OWNER OF THE RAMSHAKLE ROADSIDE INN. TESS HARPER PLAYS THE CONSERVATIVE TEMPERANT CHRISTIAN WOMAN WHO HELPS MAC FIND HIS WAY AND MARRIES HIM IN THE PROCESS. HE SLOWLY LICKS THE BOTTLE WHILE WARRING WITH HIS EX WIFE WHO IS CURRENTLY SUCCESSFUL IN HER OWN MUSIC CAREER. THE EX COUPLE BATTLE OVER MACS RIGHTS TO SEE HIS ESTRANGED DAUGHTER PLAYED BY ELLEN BARKIN. MAC RECORDS A SINGLE AND BEGINS PLAYING WITH A LOCAL BAND. SLEDGE GETS SAVED AND BAPTISED AT THE SPURRING OF HIS NEW WIFE AND WE BEGIN TO SEE THE LIGHT AT THE END OF THE TUNNEL FOR OUR PROTAGONIST. THIS IS NOT AN ACTION FLICK, A SCI FI FLUFF FILM OR A SLAP YOUR KNEE COMEDY. THIS IS A SIMPLE MOVIE WITH CHARACTERS AS RICH AS MILK CHOCALATE AND A STORY CRAFTED FROM QUALITY. IT IS DOUBTFUL THIS FILM MADE MUCH MONEY AT THE BOX OFFICE. BUT THAT IN ITSELF SHOULD TELL YOU IT IS A THINKING PERSONS FILM

QUIET PERFECTION:
Box office wise, TENDER MERCIES, sounded like a pebble dropped in the ocean, but this is a cherished film among those who appreciate quiet perfection. The simplicity of this film is its lasting fame. But this was also Duvall's hour of glory and the Academy rightfully gave him his Best Actor Oscar (1983) in what had to be a runaway vote. Best Song nominee, "Over You" still launches my heart into my throat.

Beautifully filmed movie:
We saw this movie some years ago, and yearned to have it on DVD. The film is unusually beautiful, having a special truthfulness in it, constructed with delicacy and tenderness. The movie is not declaratory in any way and (in my opinion) succeeds in showing the other (unseen) face of America. Not the America of stars, businessmen, presidents, billionaires or fight-for-freedom heroes, but the America of "small", "regular" people. By no means a purposely patriotic film, this movie probably can stir up more simpathy to this nation than most of Vietnam War or WWII super-trumpeted and super-expensive productions. The interviews added as bonus on the DVD are equally rewarding. I was personally charmed by the tranquil appearance of talented screen-player Horton Foote. Definitely a DVD to have in everyone's collection.

Almost...but....:
It feels almost criminal not to give the obligatory five stars and effusive accolades to this film. But, expecting a prototype of The Apostle, I was a little let down by Tender Mercies. Both films deal with the similar theme of redemption, of getting a second chance in life, but The Apostle hits you much harder. In that film, Duvall takes you on a rollercoaster ride from hell to heaven. Tender Mercies does not. It takes a quieter road and this doesn't always help it. As one reviewer said, it has a 'laconic sparseness,' much like its high plains backdrop. And sometimes this skeleton would have done better with a bit more meat on its bones. Duvall can't be faulted though. His performance as Mac Sledge, down and out ex-country legend, tormented by alcohol and the debris of divorce, is first class. Mac is taut and restrained. None of the explosive volatility of Sonny from the Apostle. By holding back, Duvall can still say everything and does, but I would have liked to have seen more tears, more rages. Having hit rock bottom in some podunk Texas motel room, salvation arrives in the form of Tess Harper's character. A Vietnam widow, she eeks out a living for herself and for her son by managing a rundown motel. She decides to give her boozy tenant a chance to start over in life. Seeing what he was and what he could still be, her faith in Mac inspires him to change. The only problem is that Tess's character doesn't really work. She doesn't have any depth. We never know why she opens her heart to this stranger. Ok, love...but their relationship is pretty passionless. At least from her side. With her simple wholesomeness and quiet piety, she seems a mere foil to Mac's worn-out worldliness. The characters of Mac's ex and daughter are far more fleshed out. And better acted as well. Mac's ex seethes with the bitterness of their divorce and thus gives the film a jolt of life with her high strung antics. Jealous of Mac both professionally and personally, she can't accept his new life, his new happiness. Their daughter, played by Ellen Barkin, is the surprise of the film. Without a doubt, the best female character of the film, she subtly plays out the pains of a girl in search of her daddy. Whom she nevers really finds. Again, the complexities of the father-daughter relationship are poignantly hinted at, but taken no further..... As is the spiritual change that inspires Mac to become baptized in the local church. What's the motivation behind it? Merely love for Tess's character or did he himself feel the need for it? Unexplored territory. Such unanswered questions often times increase the suspense of things, but here, too little was just too little. The ending though makes up for these grey areas. Tragedy stikes as one door of life is closed and another opens. Mac dies to his past so he can start again. But at a tremendous cost. With the ending, Beresford does a truly masterful job of mixing pain with hope, as the ultimate message of the film is revealed. The Lord does indeed shower us with His 'tender mercies.' As He taketh, He giveth. Tender Mercies, despite its flaws, is indeed a powerful story. Well worth the watch and for Duvall fans, a must. A taste treat, it gives a hint of even better things to come.