Tender Mercies
While director Bruce Beresford has often dwelled on the amusing peccadilloes of southerners, in this film he has adapted his style to characters whose manners are as plain and unadorned as the landscape they inhabit. The film stars Robert Duvall as Mac Sledge, formerly an icon of country & western music, now down-and-out, a penniless alcoholic.
Rosa Lee (Tess Harper), the young widow who owns the rural Texas motel where he has ended up, allows him to work off his board. As the months pass, the singer develops a bond with Rosa and her young son, experiencing the healing effects of this deeply religious woman's compassion. They become a family when she accepts Mac's offer of marriage, and he continues to rebuild his life.
He attempts to see his daughter, Sue Ann (Ellen Barkin), whom he hasn't seen in years, and despite a nasty dust-up with Dixie (Betty Buckley), his ex-wife, is finally able to do so. However, the last tragedy he must confront is one that will truly test his recovery. Less a traditional story than a chain of epiphanies on faith and love, this masterpiece of low-key naturalism is arguably the finest work in the distinguished careers of both Duvall and Beresford.
Directed by
Bruce Beresford
Cast
Robert Duvall - Mac Sledge
Tess Harper - Rosa Lee
Betty Buckley - Dixie Scott
Allan Hubbard - Sonny
Ellen Barkin - Sue Anne
Wilford Brimley - Harry Silver
Michael Crabtree - Lewis Menefee
Lenny Von Dohlen - Robert Dennis
Production Co.
Antron Media Inc
Thorn EMI Films
Produced by
Philip S. Hobel
Horton Foote
Robert Duvall
Mary Ann Hobel
Studio
Universal Pictures
Writer
Horton Foote
Music
George Dreyfus
