Tender Mercies (1983)

Terrible acting, screenplay and direction.

It's easily one of the freshest, sharpest and most enjoyable films of this year.

The plot isn't so bad, but the pace of storytelling is too slow which makes people bored. Certain moments are so obvious and unnecessary for the main plot. I would've fast-forwarded those moments if it was an online streaming. The ending looks like implying a sequel, not sure if this movie will get one

It’s sentimental, ridiculously long and only occasionally funny

I won't go into describing the plot because so many other people already have, but there's one thing that I don't think anyone else has touched on and I wanted to give my opinion on it.If you look at the two women in Mac Sledge's life, that's where you'll see the point of the whole story.Rosa lost her young husband to a war not long after they got married and could never find out how or even when he died. She speaks matter-of-factly about it now but she spent many years raising a son alone, doing what she could to put food on the table. She owns a run-down gas station/motel in the middle of nowhere and has practically nothing of monetary value, yet she thanks God for His tender mercies toward her.Dixie, on the other hand, is rich and famous. Even tho she too was a single mother she gave her daughter "everything money could buy." And when her daughter is killed, Dixie cries, "Why has God done this to ME?" We can only hope that, as his life with Rosa continues, Mac eventually learns to accept -- and trust -- happiness in small doses.

"Solemnity, purposeless, inert solemnity" damns poet Mary Oliver. "Tender Mercies" shows the complexity behind the stoic stare and the empty country road, shows the warmth and reassurance of a seemingly simpler life. A man has to stare down the ugly parts of his past and prove he doesn't trust happiness at the same time he must have the courage to quietly welcome it back into his life. Surprises abound (and plenty of pleasantly bold ones in the angles of the camera), but sometimes the most surprising turn is the straightest road. The honest road that connects to the audience. Scriptwriters and actors take note - rarely has a movie said more with less than "Tender Mercies."

Duvall was almost incomparable in his prime, with so many great movies under his belt by this time he made TM. He was as good in this as in any film he ever made before or since, as his broken-down country singer character Mack Sledge elicited all the world weariness and despair of anyone who has ever been on top but is now on the bottom due to drugs, in this case alcohol. His life epiphany and resulting eventual restoration of at least some of his former self could be palpably felt by anyone who has had a life dream shattered and then fought hard to come back. What was so well shown was that all fame is ephemeral and can be gone in a flash, so deeper values must be sought and lived instead.Tess Harper, as his practical and loving wife and Texas motel owner who gave the old ex-country singer/present drunk his last chance at life by first employing him and then marrying him, was truly outstanding. Her last image in the film, one of her tenderly and caringly looking over her shoulder through a rusty screen door at her little boy and his new stepfather is what I consider the definitive Mona Lisa shot of all films ever made. She was that achingly beautiful in it and endlessly touching. Her eyes. Incomparable.Betty Buckley, the great Broadway diva and singer, who played Mack's famous singer ex-wife, was so true and believable in her role as a childlike and spoiled country singer who came up from the very bottom level of society and was consumed by her fame, money and ego, and got her unlucky comeuppance from a family tragedy. What a great voice Betty has! Wilford Brimley played her manager/husband simply but effectively in his solid country way.See this film for the power of its major characters, its tainted view of fame, the terrible personal damage that the drugs of alcohol and ego can do, and for the power of the human spirit to get back up and try again. We really need films of this content and quality in our lives. It will no doubt become a classic film for the ages. It is one of the top 5 films of the decade in my ratings.

This is the kind of film you leave with a new appreciation for life. The story focuses on Mac Sledge, a retired Country singer who had lost faith in everything- life, love, success, and hope. He moves to a motel in plans of drinking himself to death. Just then, perhaps of unbearable loneliness and his destructive state, he befriends with the motel's manager, and she agrees to let him stay and help her run her gas station.Slowly but gradually, Sledge begins to fall in love with her, and his appreciation of the tender mercies in life is sparked. The quite lifestyle he now conducts makes him give up his major bad habit- the drinking.Horton Foote, the screenwriter, does brilliant work in weaving Sledges experiences and inner thoughts into an inspiring story. Using no cheap Hollywood manipulations, he subtly constructs a sincere and deeply moving portrayal of a man who wouldn't easily give up on his past demons- only to find out life had different plans for him. We slowly get to know Sledge, one piece at a time, and by the end of the film we identify with the character to such a level, that we wish we could feel the empowering impact of life, just as he did.Robert Duvall is fantastic in his honest portrayal, mastering the smallest of nuances and brilliantly conveying Sledge's inner feelings and dilemmas.This is a movie for the patient watcher. Especially in this modern era where the watcher's eye can't focus on an image if it's still for more than five seconds. I assure you, however, that as this film unfolds, you will find yourself having a similar fulfilling journey just like the one the main character goes through. And how many modern films are able to grant you the same experience?