Tender Mercies (1983)

Directed by Bruce Beresford. Starring Robert Duvall, Tess Harper, Betty Buckley, Wilford Brimley, Ellen Barkin, Lenny Von Dohlen, Allan Hubbard. [PG]

Modest succession of vignettes chronicling an alcoholic country singer (Duvall) whose career is washed up and whose life has turned meaningless, but then he meets a patient and steadfast widow (Harper) and her young son (Hubbard), both of whom help him rebuild and find peace with himself. Credible acting and a reluctance to turn full-bore sentimental makes this delicate ballad worth a look, but it’s so simplistic and understated that the narrative putters along at a limp trot the entire time, and its inspirational angle seeks out Charlie Tillman-esque “old time religion” with clumsy baptism and resurrection metaphors. By avoiding the melodramatic clichés, Duvall’s relaxed naturalism won him the Academy Award; Horton Foote’s thin screenplay also won honors from the group, but that one’s harder to figure out. Paul Gleason has a small role as a reporter.

63/100