Toward the end a character asks a number of why questions; why did this happen, why that? We don't always know why things work out the way they do; but that's life, for everyone. That's kind of the theme of this slow-developing character study of a damaged man named Mac (Robert Duvall), former country songwriter and singer.The script tells the story of Mac and his life in the slow lane, and his relationship to Rosa (Tess Harper) and others around him. It's a story of simple but genuine folks whose lives center on basic human values like dignity, honesty, and absence of pretense The lonely, barren spaces of West Texas provide the backdrop for the story. As such, the film reminds me of three other films about down home folks set in the rural South: "Gilbert Grape", "Silkwood" and "The Last Picture Show".There's not much in the way of high drama here; there's no suspense; nor is there any mystery. The entire plot plays out in a natural sort of way, as does life for most people. Things just happen; we ponder why; we move on.Visuals look realistic with natural lighting and lots of wide-angle camera shots. Also adding to the sense of realism is detailed production design appropriate to rural Texas. Film direction, casting, and acting are fairly competent.My only real complaints relate to the slow pace and the music. If the pace had been any slower, the story would have stopped; and with the absence of high drama or anything startling in the plot, some viewers will become bored, as I did during a few segments. Also, I was disappointed with the country songs that were sung. None were memorable. As such, the film's tone was less evocative than it could have been.Slow-moving and very low-key, "Tender Mercies" offers viewers a plausible and deeply thematic story of life in a rural setting with characters that are believable and fairly likable. Too bad they don't make many films like this anymore.

Greetings again from the darkness. What a cinematic treat to revisit this movie on the big screen some 30 years after its release. Standing in stark contrast to the superhero and graphic novel special effects extravaganzas of today, this little film takes a slow, simmering approach as it deals with real emotions of life.Robert Duvall won his only (so far) Oscar (he's been nominated 6 times) for playing Mac Sledge, a divorced former C&W singer/songwriter who spends each day trying to kill the pain by draining bottles of booze. The similarities to Jeff Bridges' 2009 film Crazy Heart are unmistakable, but this film is much quieter with emotions being relayed through the eyes and body language of the key characters.Mac's gradual path to redemption comes courtesy of war-widow Rosa Lee, played exceedingly well by Tess Harper (her first feature film). Rosa Lee runs a gas station/hotel while raising her young boy named Sonny (Allan Hubbard in his only screen appearance). As the story develops, we meet Mac's ex-wife Dixie, played by a bombastic Betty Buckley (the mom from TV's Eight is Enough, a Tony winner, the helpful teacher in the original Carrie) as she lives a life of luxury and insecurity courtesy of a career singing Mac's songs. Their daughter is played by Ellen Barkin in only her second screen appearance (Diner, 1982). Dixie's manager offers us a chance to see the always superb Wilford Brimley with his drawling charm.The story was written by the remarkable Horton Foote (a native Texan), who also won the Oscar for Best Original Screenplay. Mr. Foote also won an Oscar for adapting Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird for the screen, was nominated for The Trip to Bountiful, won the Pulitzer Prize in 1955, and was nicknamed the "American Chekov". His works always captured the essence of what makes people tick, and how they deal with adversity. He passed away in 2009 at age 92.Australian director Bruce Beresford was coming off the masterful Breaker Morant (nominated for his screenplay) and was surprised to be chosen to direct his first American film. He would later go on to direct Driving Miss Daisy, winner of the Best Picture Oscar. Mr. Beresford is now in his 7th decade of film work spanning his 1959 short film and his TV mini-series Bonnie & Clyde from 2013.This is such a no-frills, down-to-earth presentation that it's easy to be tricked into thinking it's a simple story about simple people. Instead, these are complicated folks leading complicated lives in a seemingly quiet manner. Mostly they are re-assembling the pieces as best they can ... some are better at it than others. The core of these people is captured in Mac's line: "I don't trust happiness. I never did. I never will".

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.

Robert Duvall was awarded an Oscar for his performance in this quiet film about a down and out country music singer who rebuilds his life in the Texas flatlands. Mac Sledge was a songwriter and singer but alcoholism and the success nearly destroyed him. Suddenly, he wakes up and changes his life at a gas station and motel in the middle of Texas highways. He falls in love with the young Vietnam widow, Rosa Lee, who lost her first husband in Vietnam and is a single mother to Sonny. Mac slowly gets off the sauce as they say. Rosa Lee doesn't know much about his past. They have a quiet relationship. They work the business and live quietly. When Mac's past comes back, he admits it to her. He has a bitter ex-wife Dixie Scott (played well by Betty Buckley) and an 18 year old daughter, Sue Ann Sledge (played by a young Ellen Barkin). Wilford Brimley plays Harry as Dixie's manager. Mac fights to keep his new life from being destroyed by his past. I would have given a 10 but I wasn't happy with what happened to Sue Ann in the film.