"Tender Mercies" is the story of a recovering alcoholic country singer who used to be famous once upon a time. He looks for a way to get his life back, and the story focuses on a certain period of his life. "Tender Mercies" is a drama film directed by Bruce Beresford and nominated for five Academy Awards including the Best Picture, and won 2 of them, Best Original Screenplay, Horton Foote, and Best Actor in a Leading Role, Robert Duvall. There are some films that focus only on one person. "Tender Mercies" is a splendid example of films like that. Robert Duvall's performance determines the success of the film. "Tender Mercies" has a very calm atmosphere. Nothing extreme or illogical happens. It is one of the films where you really believe in the story and the people in it. You accept the leading actor as one of your own. Sometimes you even get to ask yourself "why I watched this story?" "Tender Mercies" is like that. Maybe the story has nothing to do with you but it has everything to do with life. This is the main reason why it was nominated for five Academy Awards. The director is very much focused on the main character and ignores everything else. This creates a smooth and flowing progression for the story. The runtime of 92 minutes is very well calculated. This film is like the life itself. It is a part of life. You feel like nothing really happens, but eventually realize that a lot has changed around you. I think I can't describe "Tender Mercies" in a better way. Even though it is a drama, since it tells the story of a singer, you are going to hear a lot of beautiful country songs.
Mac Sledge (Robert Duvall) was, once upon a time, famous country singer and song writer. He lost his family and career to alcohol. The film opens with a scene where he fights with a guy, in a remote hotel room, over a bottle of alcohol. Next day when he wakes up, he finds out that he doesn't have money to pay for his room. The owner of the motel, Rosa Lee, (Tess Harper) is a young widow who lost her husband in the Vietnam War and remained with her son Sonny (Allan Hubbard). Mac offers help for the motel to pay for his room. Rosa Lee agrees and he starts working there. After a couple of months, Mac recovers from alcohol and gets married to Rosa Lee.
In a lot of scenes, we witness the inner screams of Mac. Rosa Lee and Sonny help him get back to his real self, and Mac proves to have a strong character. He starts to write music, he starts to sing again. He makes up with his daughter who dies in a car crash later on. There are a lot of scenes where he shows exceptional performances, but there is one particular scene which, I think, brings him the Oscar. This scene explains the unfairness of life and inner pains of Mac as well. I want to write a bit about this scene. Mac finds out about his daughter's death, he is in the garden, caring for vegetables and he tells his wife these exact words; "I don't know why I wandered out this part of Texas drunk, and you took me in and pitied me and helped me to straighten out, marry me. Why? Why did that happen? Is there a reason that happened? And Sonny's daddy died in the war, my daughter killed in an automobile accident. Why? See, I don't trust happiness. I never did; I never will." This scene is the whole summary of the film. This is exactly what I meant when I said; "Tender Mercies" is a part of real life. How many times I have asked related questions to myself. The justice has an unusual way of working, and it will never be truly understood. Mac has seen everything in his life, that's why he doesn't trust happiness. When you live long enough, survive long enough, you learn not to trust happiness. Because no one can hurt you anymore when you have no expectations. These feeling are the best examples of the reality of "Tender Mercies."
"Tender Mercies" was made with a humble budget of $4.5 Million and grossed around $8.4 Million. These kinds of films don't have financial targets, they don't have big marketing campaigns. They are as silent as the characters in it. This is the beauty of "Tender Mercies." It is a notable example of the fact that you don't need a lot of money to make a good film. As for similarity, Randy Robinson, played by Mickey Rourke in The Wrestler, and, Bad Blake played by Jeff Bridges in the Crazy Heart, have similar inner struggles. Since these stories are directly about people, they will always have a respectful place in cinema.
Mac Sledge (Robert Duvall) was, once upon a time, famous country singer and song writer. He lost his family and career to alcohol. The film opens with a scene where he fights with a guy, in a remote hotel room, over a bottle of alcohol. Next day when he wakes up, he finds out that he doesn't have money to pay for his room. The owner of the motel, Rosa Lee, (Tess Harper) is a young widow who lost her husband in the Vietnam War and remained with her son Sonny (Allan Hubbard). Mac offers help for the motel to pay for his room. Rosa Lee agrees and he starts working there. After a couple of months, Mac recovers from alcohol and gets married to Rosa Lee.
In a lot of scenes, we witness the inner screams of Mac. Rosa Lee and Sonny help him get back to his real self, and Mac proves to have a strong character. He starts to write music, he starts to sing again. He makes up with his daughter who dies in a car crash later on. There are a lot of scenes where he shows exceptional performances, but there is one particular scene which, I think, brings him the Oscar. This scene explains the unfairness of life and inner pains of Mac as well. I want to write a bit about this scene. Mac finds out about his daughter's death, he is in the garden, caring for vegetables and he tells his wife these exact words; "I don't know why I wandered out this part of Texas drunk, and you took me in and pitied me and helped me to straighten out, marry me. Why? Why did that happen? Is there a reason that happened? And Sonny's daddy died in the war, my daughter killed in an automobile accident. Why? See, I don't trust happiness. I never did; I never will." This scene is the whole summary of the film. This is exactly what I meant when I said; "Tender Mercies" is a part of real life. How many times I have asked related questions to myself. The justice has an unusual way of working, and it will never be truly understood. Mac has seen everything in his life, that's why he doesn't trust happiness. When you live long enough, survive long enough, you learn not to trust happiness. Because no one can hurt you anymore when you have no expectations. These feeling are the best examples of the reality of "Tender Mercies."
"Tender Mercies" was made with a humble budget of $4.5 Million and grossed around $8.4 Million. These kinds of films don't have financial targets, they don't have big marketing campaigns. They are as silent as the characters in it. This is the beauty of "Tender Mercies." It is a notable example of the fact that you don't need a lot of money to make a good film. As for similarity, Randy Robinson, played by Mickey Rourke in The Wrestler, and, Bad Blake played by Jeff Bridges in the Crazy Heart, have similar inner struggles. Since these stories are directly about people, they will always have a respectful place in cinema.