Tender Mercies

source: Tender Mercies

Tender Mercies from 1983 has spawned some knockoffs, made for TV films that you see on the Country Cable station. TM is still one of the best portrayals of poor Texas brush folks on flat, flat terrain. Sometimes tumbleweed tumbles by. Anyhow, one looks at that big sky and a country song comes to your lips. Robert Duvall plays Mac Sledge stoically in tight blue jeans and cowboy boots. Duvall slips off the Godfather set and takes that Texas accent where men sort of mumble homily's at a moments notice. Ah, he can't sing, but he gets a nice voice-over during a honky tonk gig. So former Country star Duval has fallen hard and end drunkenly ends up at a rural Austin motel to take up with Tess Harper, a widow of the Vietnam War. Her young son needs a father. The ready made family makes do with gas station revenue while Duval dries out. Local citizens, boys in a garage band lure the has-been songwriter back into the music business. Former wife Trixie still hates his drunken ways and won't let Mac connect with his young daughter, teen Ellen Barker. After that, there's a tragedy. I watched TM with a teen daughter and we enjoyed it. We're not talking Fellini or Welles here, but it kept me interested.

TENDER MERCIES is a simple story of a country western singer's rise from the depths of drunken despair to respectability again after meeting a woman (TESS HARPER) with whom he falls in love, marries and is encouraged to try his hand at music again. ROBERT DUVALL is Mac, the washed up singer, now the handyman at the motel run by Harper, who lives there with her young son. He's a legend in that area of Texas and is urged by an unknown group to sing and write for them--eventually even joining them on stage for one of his latest songs. Duvall plays the role with conviction, lending his voice to the songs in pleasant country style. His ex-wife is bitter and unforgiving (BETTY BUCKLEY), and sees everything, even the tragic death of their daughter (ELLEN BARKIN) in terms of herself as the spotlight--and unable to treat him with any sort of respect. But he basks in the loving attention of his wife and his adopted son, getting his nourishment from his relationship with them rather than anything from his past. It's a bittersweet story, simple and direct without any sub-plots or any kind of distraction and passes the time quickly in ninety minutes, more a character study of Mac than anything else. I'm not a fan of country music nor this sort of western, but it has a certain homespun appeal and Duvall, of course, is an actor worth watching. It must have been a lean year for Oscars though--it's not the kind of performance that immediately grabs you and hasn't got Oscar written all over it.

Some movies contain deep insights about the human condition, profound meanings or thoughts, and others don't but people will look deeply and try and find them in order to try and feel about something like others say they should (esp. critics); this is one of the latter. Duvall plays Mac, a former country singing star. He is left one night by a fellow drunk who fights with him over a bottle and knocks him out, at this tiny little motel in the middle of nowhere and after sleeping it off, asks if the room is paid. One things leads to another and after working off the bill for the owner, Rosa Lee, who lives there with her son, Sonny, she lets him keep working, and he stays off the bottle, and then eventually Mac, without so much as him and Rosa Lee shaking hands, let alone kissing or showing ANY sort of romantic feelings for one another, let alone the LEAST little bit of chemistry for one another, makes a pathetic excuse for a proposal to her and they're then married. But we never see this marriage, or any chemistry between them happen after they're married. Betty Buckley plays his ex-wife country singing star, Dixie, who sings his songs but hates him, Ellen Barkin is his estranged 18 year old daughter Sue Ann who comes to visit him, a country group wants him to come see them play somewhere but never gives him their name (but they come back later and he agrees to let them record one of his songs, then eventually sing with them). The only thing we hear Sonny talk about is is dad who died in Vietnam; no other insight is given to his character. As Mac is making a sort of a very small comeback, Sue Ann is killed in an automobile accident caused by her newly-married husband. Dixie is beside herself at the funeral. Mac talks with Rosa Lee afterward while working outside the motel, saying why wasn't it him who died (as he was in a big accident years before), and not her. He says he doesn't understand a damn thing. He also says the ONE great line in this movie: "You see, I don't trust happiness. I never did, I never will." That ONE LINE got him an Oscar for this INCREDIBLY slow-moving, quiet movie where nothing is really shown about ANY of the characters (though Mac can be READ, a bit), no background, him and his wife (his third, as we find out, as does his wife, after they are married) and their son, his stepson, life a life without ANYTHING revealed about it or them. Their life comes off as so unbearably dull it would drive most people to desperation. It's a quiet movie that says nothing. She sings at the choir. Sonny talks about his dad dying in Vietnam. It's an incredibly BORING, EMPTY movie. At the end of the movie, Mac brings home a football and him and Sonny pass it to each other, play with it. And then it's THE END. I can't believe this movie is rated so high, a movie where nothing happens (the way the things written above happen are without any insights into why, without any buildup, NOTHING). This was made as a quiet movie. Fine. But don't tell me there's any deep meaning here in these barely-drawn-out characters, or tell me that THIS is a great movie, or even decent one (no WONDER this did horribly both at test screenings and when released theatrically). This movie is NOT entertainment, NOT deep, not even a good story by any means. AVOID. Or watch it, and waste an hour and a half, and wonder afterward what the fuss is about. Duvall sings some Lefty Frizzell songs; one, called It Hurts To Face Reality is pretty good, though Duvall is a great actor, just a decent singer at best; Buckley fairs better; too bad the movie as a whole doesn't. Duvall's acting is fair but there's no story here; he's played MUCH better parts, but then, the Academy is notorious for giving great actors awards not for their best movies but for others as compensation.

While some may consider the movie a little slow at times, its overall message is a powerful one. A movie about redemption, restoration and hope. Robert Duvall's portrayal of a man whose life is in need of repair is outstanding. Ranks with his character in "The Apostle", a similar tale in many ways. In my opinion, the baptismal scene is one of the movie's most moving moments. The bleak landscapes and the dust-blown scenes effectively echo the main character's state of mind for part of the film. Mac Sledge is a great character brought to life by Duvall. As Sledge gradually gets his life together thanks to the developing relationships with a young widow and her son, the mood of the movie becomes a little more positive.

I was happy to see this film once again when it aired last night on CMT. It's certainly worthy of a second look, as you take something new away from it each time. Even though this was filmed during the urban cowboy era of the early 80s, it doesn't seem dated in its subject matter. Country music fans can draw their own conclusions as to who inspired some of the characters. Robert Duvall's burnt-out drunk Mac Sledge surely borrowed from Lefty Frizzell. Mac's singing style is eerily close to Lefty's and he even performs one of his songs in the film. Betty Buckley's country queen Dixie Scott is reminiscent of Dottie West. Perhaps the writer based his story on George Jones and Tammy Wynette's bitter divorce, Jones' subsequent alcoholism and redemption, and Tammy's raising of their daughter. Whatever the case, it has a wonderful message about loss making us appreciate the good things we're given in life. The final song playing while Tess Harper watches her husband and son tossing a football says it best.

This is a great, great film. Robert Duvall richly deserved the Oscar he won for Best Actor, and Bruce Beresford's direction is quirky but consistently entertaining. The most wonderful aspect of this movie is how the screenwriter (Horton Foote) doesn't let the characters engage in all the obvious, "Hollywood" histrionics that the plot would allow them to do. For example: when Mack (Duvall) finally meets his long-lost daughter late in the film, he doesn't run to her and embrace her with tears staining his face while music swells beneath the scene, as a hack director would have him do. Instead, he looks at his shoes, makes small talk, and acts embarrassed. Why? Because, consistently throughout the film, he doesn't believe he deserves the good things that come his way. This is the tale of a man who, in the absolute pit of despair and hopelessness, is saved by the love of a good woman and the love of God. You need to see it.

This is a movie with a lot of "dignity." It has such realistic people, it kept me fascinated because it seemed so different from most films I've watched. There aren't a lot of dramatic things that happen in the story yet, as a whole, it's a wonderful tale that stays with you. It's a lot more than just seeing an Oscar-winning performance by Robert Duvall as Texan and former C&W singer and writer, "Mac Sledge." It's simply good storytelling I can't say I am a fan of Duvall's country singing, but that is the only thing I didn't like. Well, maybe "Dixie" (Betty Buckley), who played a bitter ex-wife of Duvall's in here. She was not pleasant, but others were really nice, likable people. Yet, this is not some sappy movie just because most of the people are good folks. As in film noirs in which the viewer has a sense of dread, knowing something bad is around the corner, I felt the same thing in this film, even though it didn't necessarily happen. I mean with the main characters: Mac, Rosa Lee and Sonny. There was underlying tension, probably because of Sledge's alcoholic and violent past, that made me fear that any minute he was going to ruin the nice setup he had with a good woman and nice stepson. Duvall, as usual, makes his role a fascinating and unpredictable one. With many of the people he has played over the years, you never am sure what his characters are going to do next. Tess Harper, as Mac's new wife, and Alan Hubbard, as her son, are two of the most realistic characters I've ever seen on film. It helped they were from the area so their accents were real. This is a just straight drama, with a solid screenplay by Horton Foote and direction by Bruce Beresford ("Driving Miss Daisy"). In addition, actors Buckley (who can sing, too), Wilford Brimley and Ellen Barkin all give memorable supporting performances. It was an interesting tale of something I have rarely seen on film in the past 50 years: a good Christian woman lifting up a man to her level. She never had to do it verbally, never nagged or preached to the man, just set example of how to act and be a loving, supportive spouse. There is a lesson for people here with how well "Rosa Lee" handled situations. Nice.....very nice.

This moving and thought-provoking film is a timeless classic of redemption and perseverance.Robert Duvall totally captures the pain, heartache, despair and ultimate survival of a once beloved entertainer.The film is an emotional tour-de-force for all the main characters, as they deal with forgiveness, doubt, loss of faith and memories of what might have been ....... The direction, screenplay, music and cinematography are all top-notch and add to the realistic feel of the film. In a career that has seen a number of great performances, this quiet, unassuming Duvall film will leave you inspired as well as thoughtful. In this film , we see our own lives reflected in this small town saga. Maybe that is why I found the movie so deeply entertaining. It appeals to the lost dreams and missed opportunities in our own lives.

I was originally going to give this film a 9 out of 10 because it's a country type film with country style music, and I thought you'd have to have a country taste for it. But upon thinking of it (and just the fact that I'd spend that much time thinking about it shows you how great a film this is) I realized, no, the story is so universal, the acting so excellent, the music so enthralling, it passes boundaries and anyone can enjoy it. It's difficult to believe that Betty Buckley and Robert Duvall are actually doing their own singing since neither has been given enough credit for those talents. Buckley known as the step-mom in Eight is Enough will captivate you with her song "Over You." She had a strong stage career but you never would have known it from that show, yet it's clear to see why here in just this one song that I guarantee you'll be humming and searching for as soon as you've seen the movie. Robert Duvall is perfect as the country star has been who still has it but just doesn't realize it. There are laughs and sadness, but it all comes together in a bittersweet note, literally, like a beautiful ribbon that ties together a broken heart. See this movie. You'll never forget it once you have.