Tender Mercies 1983

Tender Mercies is mostly a musical drama. There’s no score at all, only performances of guitar-strung songs, mostly original, which the lead Robert Duvall insisted on. But there’s a hint of other genres in the mix. Duvall portrays singer-songwriter Mac Sledge, and like in an old-time Western, he’s a stranger to the small town, dressed up with his cowboy hat and boots. Given his later romance with Baptist widow Rosa, there’s a bit of a Hallmark romance as well. So why mention all this? Because at a time when British filmmakers were being celebrated over Hollywood, Tender Mercies put together some of the elements that characterized something distinctly American. It’s because of this timing that Tender Mercies became critically acclaimed.