Tender Mercies
TENDER MERCIES (PG)
D: Bruce Beresford
EMI/Antron (Philip S. Hobel)
US 1983
92 mins
Drama
W: Horton Foote
DP: Russell Boyd
Ed: William Anderson
Mus: George Dreyfus
Robert Duvall (Mac Sledge), Tess Harper (Rosa
Lee), Betty Buckley (Dixie), Wilfred Brimley (Harry), Ellen Barkin (Sue Anne)
Robert Duvall won an Oscar for his performance as Mac Sledge,
a down-and-out Country & Western singer who tries to reclaim his past glories.
A
subtle character study which the critics adored (as did Oscar voters, who nominated it for Best Picture of 1983). As for conventional audiences, like Country & Western music itself, it's
something you will like or something you won't with very little middle ground.
A
similar story was tackled in 2009's Crazy Heart (qv).
6/10
