"[48], The relationship between Mac and Sonny, whose name derives from "son", is central to the film's exploration of the father–child theme. [65], Tender Mercies was released on March 4, 1983,[66] in only three theaters: one in New York City, one in Los Angeles, and one in Chicago. Following what Foote saw as a far more successful adaption of his 1968 play Tomorrow in 1972, his interest in filmmaking was rekindled, under the condition that he maintain some degree of control over the final product. View credits, reviews, tracks and shop for the 1983 Vinyl release of Tender Mercies - Music From The Motion Picture on Discogs. I can think of three movies straight away, where I felt his acting was more compelling, made you really believe in the character (e.g. Willie Jones Addresses Race in the U.S. in the Stunning 'American Dream', New Radicals to Reunite for First Time in 22 Years for Biden Inauguration Parade, We’re All Missing the Point of the Armie Hammer Cannibalism Scandal, Jason ‘Rowdy’ Cope, Guitarist for the Steel Woods, Dead at 42, See Little Big Town’s Joyful ‘Happy People’ Video, Hear Brad Paisley, Mick Jagger’s Strutting ‘Drive of Shame’, See Brad Paisley, John Fogerty Call Out Mistreatment of War Veterans. [13] Harper said Boyd was so quiet during filming that he mostly used just three words: "'Yeah', 'right' and 'sure'". The fact that he sang and even wrote some songs for the film just adds to that authenticity. [4] Foote sought to portray each character as realistic and flawed, but not unsympathetic. Photo measures 8 x 10 inches. Way, way back in the army, way back in the Fifties, I used to listen to Lefty and Webb Pierce.”, Duvall calls his Golden Globe-winning role as Augustus McCrae in the acclaimed 1989 TV miniseries, Lonesome Dove, “My Henry the V, my Hamlet. Directed by Gary Hertz. Mac watches the motel from a field across the road and sings "On the Wings of a Dove" to himself. It’s not because he captured the essence of a talented, recovering alcoholic trying to make amends for a sorry life. Lawrence. [13] The boy was able to relate easily to the character because, like Sonny, his father died at an early age; later, some media reports falsely claimed that his father was killed during the Vietnam War, just as Sonny's was in the film's backstory. In the 60s aside from Mockingbird, he was in the “definitive John Wayne western” True Grit, and in Francis Ford Coppola’s The Rain People. The members of the local country band ask Mac permission to perform one of his songs, and he agrees. "[12], Beresford was attracted to the idea of making a Hollywood film with a big budget and powerful distribution. And he said, 'We don't do things that way here. '"[16], Beresford, known for carefully planning every shot in his films, drew his own storyboards as well as detailed drawings of how he envisioned the sets. with a twist: “My uncle used to like to drink a little bit. But in Hollywood it wasn't so. According to Briley, Sue Anne's visit prompts Mac to realize that reconciliation with her and a reformation of their father–daughter relationship is the ingredient that had been lacking in his quest for redemption. [30], Beresford also clashed on set with Brimley. [29] Beresford largely avoided the Victorian architecture and other picturesque elements of Waxahachie and instead focused on relatively barren locations more characteristic of West Texas. Want more Rolling Stone? [13], Most of Tender Mercies was filmed in Waxahachie and Palmer, two towns in Ellis County in north central Texas. [5] Foote said, "This older man had been through it all. The story completely unfolds, when Mac Sledge (Robert Duvall) meets a widow (Tess Harper), and the two fall and love and get married. [66] Tender Mercies eventually played at a total of 37 theaters and grossed $8,443,124. Photo: Jeff Bridges (left) and Robert Duvall in Fox Searchlight Pictures' "Crazy Heart" "Crazy Heart" has been described as similar to your film "Tender Mercies." His newfound happiness is interrupted when Sue Anne dies in a car accident. Throughout his mourning Mac continues his new life with Rosa Lee and Sonny. He also felt, however, that it tended toward melodrama on a few occasions and that the soundtrack had "a bit of syrupy music ... especially at the end". And Sonny's daddy died in the war, my daughter killed in an automobile accident. Throughout his long career, Duvall has been in some seminal Hollywood films. They're just going to dub somebody else? “Cheyenne” has been a favorite of Duvall’s since he was a young child. [24] When filming ended, Duvall gave her a blue cowgirl shirt as a gift with a card that read, "You really were Rosa Lee". [69] It was also shown at the 1983 International Film Festival of India in New Delhi. [24], Cinematographer Russell Boyd largely used available light to give the movie a natural feel, which Beresford said was crucial to its sense of authenticity. "[58] In a climactic scene, Mac tells Rosa Lee that he was once nearly killed in a car crash himself, which forces him to address the question of why he was allowed to live while others have died. New York Times critic Vincent Canby observed that it was released during "the time of year when distributors usually get rid of all of those movies they don't think are worth releasing in the prime moviegoing times of Christmas and the midsummer months". [54][55] It is after this moment, Briley points out, that Mac is able to forge other relationships, such as those with his young bandmates, and "develop his own potential for success as a man. With much apprehension, Mac (Robert Duvall, center) returns to the stage for the first time in over a year to sing, in "Tender Mercies" MoviePhoto measures 10 x 8inches. [39][40] This is in keeping with the motif of fidelity common in the works of Foote, inspired, said the writer, by his marriage to Lillian Vallish Foote. [62] The dialogue in other scenes suggests the threat of mortality, including a moment when Mac has trouble singing due to his bad voice and says, "Don't feel sorry for me, Rosa Lee, I'm not dead yet. But he does trust the tender mercies that mysteriously led him from death to life. "[61], Mac is portrayed as near death at the beginning of the film, having woken up in a drunken stupor in a boundless, empty flatland with nothing in his possession, a shot that scholar Roy M. Anker said "pointedly reflects the condition of his own soul". [16] Duvall collaborated with Beresford in deciding on the unusual staging of the emotional scene in which Mac sings it after reflecting on the reunion with his daughter. Indeed, ''Tender Mercies'' has a bleak handsomeness bordering on the arty, but it also has real delicacy and emotional power, both largely attributable to a fine performance by Robert Duvall. [9][72] Richard Corliss of Time declared it the "best American movie of the new year". "[60], Rebecca Luttrell Briley, You Can Go Home Again: The Focus on Family in the Works of Horton Foote[48], Mac experiences his spiritual resurrection even as he wrestles with death, in both the past — Sonny's father in the Vietnam War — and present — his own daughter in a car accident. [7][10] In preparing for the role, he spent weeks roaming around Texas, speaking to strangers to find the right accent and mannerisms. In the final scene Sonny finds a football Mac has left him as a gift. [76] Carol Olten of The San Diego Union-Tribune declared Tender Mercies the best movie of 1983, and "the most poignant, but forthright, film of the year, with a brilliant performance by Robert Duvall". "Tender Mercies" won Robert Duvall his only Academy Award in six nominations. With Robert Duvall, Tess Harper, Betty Buckley, Wilford Brimley. I never did; I never will. [3] Philip Hobel said it took about a year to secure the financing from EMI Films, whose major 1981 release, Honky Tonk Freeway, had done poor box office. [7] He chose the title Tender Mercies, from the Book of Psalms, for its relation to the Rosa Lee character, who he said seeks only "certain moments of gentleness or respite, [not] grandness or largeness". It is a matter of faith, elusive and intangible. The Movie: Tender Mercies is the film that won Robert Duvall his Oscar, and it's the film that brought director Bruce Beresford (Breaker Morant, Driving Miss Daisy) to Hollywood.But otherwise, this quiet drama has pretty much flown under the radar since its release in 1983. The two begin to develop feelings for each other, mostly during quiet evenings sitting alone and sharing parts of their life stories. [13] Duvall sang his own songs, a right he insisted be part of his contract. And is pretty good up with the problem most beautiful moments in Mercies. 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