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Rating: 3 out of 5
When I first read the synopsis of Tender Mercies, I immediately thought of Crazy Heart. I could’ve sworn that Crazy Heart was a remake because it sounded so much alike after this film. Crazy Heart came out in 2009, and Tender Mercies came out in 1983. They had very similar characters, and I felt like I would’ve wasted my time watching another film with the same premise. Luckily, I gave the film a chance and found it interesting but not for me. You know I am in for a good drama, and this had it somewhat, but I was looking for more.
Tender Mercies is directed by Bruce Beresford and revolves around Mac Sledge (Duvall). Mac is a broken-down, middle-aged, alcoholic, former country music star. After a night of hard drinking, he finds himself in a small Texas town. He meets the owner, Rosa Lee (Harper), and her young ten-year-old son, Sonny (Hubbard), who she is raising on her own. Rosa Lee is widowed as her husband died in Vietnam. Mac decides to stick around and asks if there is anything that he can do. Rosa Lee states that he can stay in return for doing handiwork and giving up drinking as she is a Christian. Over time, a relationship between Mac and Rosa Lee forms, and they are soon married. A reporter reveals that Mac is a former country music singer. The latter was once married to the now famous country singer, Dixie (Buckley). After turning his back on his former life, Mac tries to face his demons and form a relationship with his adult daughter, Sue Anne (Barkin).
The story’s premise hits upon several themes: the importance of love and family, spiritual resurrection amid death, and the concept of redemption. All these themes are what Mac goes through as he converts to Christianity. Let’s start off with the importance of L.O.V.E and family. As Vin Diesel states in the Fast and Furious films, “It’s all about family.” Mac is a hard-drinking fool, just like the character in Crazy Heart. After one violent outburst and sleeping on the ground, he seems like, I can’t do this anymore. Through his relationship with Rosa Lee and her son, he starts putting down the bottle. Homeboy goes straight cold turkey and gets married to Rosa Lee. Through this, Mac stabilizes himself and seems genuinely happy with his new life and world.
Through his relationship with Rosa Lee and her son, Mac seems to find redemption in his life. When the town finds out who he is, he tries not to associate with that life anymore, but slowly he gives in. He helps several singers do their thing, but he tries to reconnect with his wife, Dixie, and his daughter, Sue Anne. His wife doesn’t believe his change, but Sue Anne seems interested as she often visits against her mother’s advice. You really see the change in Mac as he admits to all the faults he did in the past.
The final part is with spiritual resurrection or spirituality. At the film’s beginning, Mac had zero sense of the word spiritual. Homeboy was going to hell with a ribbon around him. Part of Mac’s redemption was his newfound faith in Christianity. Rosa Lee sings in the church and lives a good life. Wanting to do right for her, he turns to Christianity. Mac has true faith in his religion because the demons do come out. When his ex-wife Dixie turns down his song, he wants to hit up that bottle but pours it out. Mac also gets baptized with his stepson, showing that he doesn’t want to return.
Besides those themes, you would think this is a country music movie, but it didn’t have that country movie feel. Sorry to compare it to Crazy Heart, but that film felt like a country movie. There were songs, and you can tell it was made in the heartland. Duvall did sing his own country songs, but once again, the most country songs I got were from Dixie, and that was only one song.
I feel like Robert Duvall was a great choice and did a great job as Mac Sledge. He was hard drinking and did one outburst initially, but after that, he made Mac a gentle soul. You could see the transformation in him as he gave up his demons.
As far as the rest of the cast goes, Tess Harper as Rosa Lee was okay. She played the gentle woman who didn’t want any trouble and was trying to make a life for her son while running a small-town motel. Betty Buckley as Dixie was probably one of the strongest performances. You could tell that her character was pissed at Mac, and it was all justified. The man was a woman beater, and she left to hit it big. Finally, we have Ellen Barkin as Sue Anne. She wanted to reconnect with Mac as his daughter. She didn’t seem to have any ill-will towards Mac and wanted a sweet relationship until the very end.
Tender Mercies is an okay film if you are into religion and country music. It really wasn’t a movie for me, and I found it too much like Crazy Heart. Even though this movie came out first, I felt like it lacked in many different areas. Robert Duvall did a great job as the main character, but besides that, this film could be skipped in my eyes.
