Tender Mercies Reviews

Robert Duvall delivers a great, oscar-winning performance in a film that is actually worthy of it (as opposed to "The Great Santini"). Hell, even the kid (Allen Hubbard) does a good job. Duvall plays an alcholic country singer who, after waking up in a desolate country farmhouse/gas station/motel, decides to stay on and help out the owner (who is a single mother) when he can't afford to pay off his bill. Obviously, the two fall in love and get married (their relationship is formed so quickly they're already married before the movie is ten minutes in), and she helps him sober up and straighten out his life. It's interesting to see how subdued or distant the wife (Tess Harper) is. One of the closing scenes, where Duvall's character has a breakdown, any other movie wife would run to him and hug and comfort him, but this woman (who appears in the corner of the screen), merely turns and walks away. For such a loving wife, it's rather strange behavior (in fact, it leads one to question whether she really loves him, or married him just because he provided a role model for her son). His ex-wife stands in stark contrast, she's driven purely by her music career and doesn't seem to care about anything else. She's a woman who seemingly has it all, but really has nothing, whereas he is someone who appears to have nothing but really has everything he could ever want. He doesn't covet his ex wife's success. Their daughter (Ellen Barkin) is kept from him until at 18, she decides to look him up for herself. It's such a slow-moving, simple tale and yet it feels realistic, like it could've been made-for-television by Robert Altman. Duvall is convincing as a country music singer, and does a good job performing the songs in the movie. Tender Mercies would make a nice contrasting companion piece for Altman's "Nashville", if someone were in the mood for country & western, slice-of-life.

"Tender Mercies" is a very minimalist effort from director Bruce Beresford, who moves the film along at a calm and unhurried pace. As well, Robert Duvall gives an endearing and honest performance that resonates with every word that he says. Overall, the impact that "Tender Mercies" has on the viewer is not lasting, but watching it is a pleasant experience.

Robert Duvall is brilliant here. This might be Duvall's best performance of his stellar career. Great direction and screenplay in what I found to be an interesting, moving character study that is so genuine that I, a liberal atheist, could care about and relate to these southern Christians. Great film!

Really surprised at how much I liked it, and how (not surprisingly) great Duvall is..........it got me closer to liking country music.....

The underlying feeling running through this picture is wrenching. Duvall couldn't have been better, and the whole cast is just right - Betty Buckley should be a star - her rendition of "Over You" is spine-tingling. The richly developed midwestern world of Foote's nuanced screenplay is expertly observed and paced by Beresford along with his cinematographer Russell Boyd and editor William Anderson. Special.

Great little movie Starring Robert Duvall as an alcoholic country singer turning it all around.. Ellen Barkin stars as his daughter.

I see why this film is given great reviews when it came out back in 1983. "Tender Mercies" is a well done drama film about a washed up Country singer who with the help of a woman gets his life back on track. Robert Duvall is superb as Mac Sledge. A great film that you need to see.

Excellent drama of a rags-to-riches tale in the spiritual sense primarily. Overall, a nice surprise!

Lord, have mercy...Depressing movie-making at it's best

I was vastly disappointed in this movie--it had absolutely no emotional resonance in it and no emotional connection between the characters--particularly between Robert Duvall and Tess Harper. Like Horton Foote's Alone, the screenplay is boring, and shows no reason why the two characters get married or any romantic connection between them. The child's role shows none of the understanding of childhood so present in To Kill A Mockingbird. Robert Duvall's talents are wasted--he was much better in Secondhand Lions than this film. He showed more emotion as Boo Radley than here. How he won an Academy Award for this film I'll never know. Maybe they were showing him tender mercies.

A simple film about people; a rare relief from the plot twists and over the top productions usually seen by modern audiences. Perhaps a little too subtle in it's subtext, and maybe not deserving of it's Best Screenplay award. However, Robert Duvall is brilliant as the anti-hero Mac, and his Best Actor award was more than earned.

Nothing that special or original about it, but with a wonderful performance by Robert Duvall, it's still worth watching. The ending was rather disappointing. I would've liked to see where else it could go. I guess it was just too abrupt for my taste. Some of the scenes didn't really go anywhere, and sometimes the story was a bit rushed, such as the lack of development between Mac and Rosa Lee before they got married, but were still handled decently enough. Unlike some movies of this particular vein, Tender Mercies didn't get bogged down too much by exposition and sappy melodramatic sequences. It just told the story, and was about as stripped down as Mac Sledge. However, that style went both ways during the film. The soundtrack is good (even though I'm not a fan of country music), the cinematography was smooth, and of course, the performances are the film's strong suit.

This is a wonderful movie for country music lovers. I'm a huge fan of Robert Duvallso this was a double treat for me. The singing is not that great but the character Mac Sledge is so down to earth, I loved him anyway. I own a copy and love to watch it now and then. Song " If you'll hold the ladder, I'll climb to the top" stays with you.

"Tender Mercies" is a very minimalist effort from director Bruce Beresford, who moves the film along at a calm and unhurried pace. As well, Robert Duvall gives an endearing and honest performance that resonates with every word that he says. Overall, the impact that "Tender Mercies" has on the viewer is not lasting, but watching it is a pleasant experience.

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.

Mac Sledge (Robert Duvall) is a former singer/songwriter who has moved into the quiet Texas prairies and married a widowed woman named Rosa Lee (Tess Harper). His past involves several previous wives that ended in divorce, which were related to alcohalism. With his previous ex-wife, he had a daughter to whom they had seen for seven years. They finally met again during the film, but there relationship was cut short due to tragedy (which I will let the viewers find out if they care to watch this). The film has a lot heart, but at times is very slow. There is not enough tension to generate discussion, albeit there are some virtues which include a couple of nice songs. It is alright, but not really anything special and I am not sure if Duvall deserved Best Actor for his role.

While it could use a bit more conflict and tension, "Tender Mercies" manages to tell an interesting story of redemption and the uncertainties in life while also avoiding cliches and keeping raw emotions at bay for the most part. Its slow, methodical pace may not appease some, but Robert Duvall's stand out performance is reason enough to watch this engaging film. 8/10

A quiet, resonant movie about country music, second chances, and redemption. Oscar winner in 1984 for best actor and best original screenplay. The combination of director Bruce Beresford, screenwriter Horton Foote, and actor/co-producer Robert Duvall produced a nearly perfect movie. Watch the scene where his daughter, played by Ellen Barkin, comes to see him after eight years. Remarkable.

A very simple story. Little drama. Fine acting from Robert Duvall.