| Tender Mercies 
				(1983), 
				Director and Writer: Bruce Bresford, rated PG 
				Robert Duvall 
				is Mac Sledge, His fight for respect was just beginning. 
				
		  Starring: Robert 
				Duvall, Tess Harper, Betty Buckley, Wilford Brimley, Ellen 
				Barkin, Allan Hubbard, Lenny von Dohlen, Paul Gleason 
DML Rating: 
★★★★★★★★★☆ 
- near perfect 
				"Is there a reason that 
				happened? And Sonny's daddy died in the war, my daughter killed 
				in an 
				automobile accident. Why? See, I don't trust happiness. I 
				never did, I never will." - 
				Mac Sledge 
				Why watch this? 
				Duvall finally gets an Oscar for this bittersweet tale of 
				redemption. 
				Plot Summary: 
				Mac Sledge is a washed-up, alcoholic country singer at rock 
				bottom, who finds himself working off a debt at a run-down Texas 
				motel. He builds a new life with the motel's widowed owner, Rosa 
				Lee, and her son, but his past soon comes calling, threatening 
				to unravel his newfound stability. Mac is then forced to 
				confront his demons and choose between the life he once had and 
				new life he's acquired. Dad's Preview: 
				Robert Duvall never ceases to amaze. At first, I could not 
				understand all the hubbub; he doesn't appear to be acting at all. 
				But slowly I began to get it. He's so good, so natural, that it appears he's not 
				acting. He takes on the role, and makes it his own. Here he 
				plays a former country singer/songwriter who has lost his way to pain 
				and alcohol. He finds a little salvation in a loving woman's arms and 
				her son's need for a father figure. But does he really deserve a 
				second chance in the music business? Will it bring back all the 
				demons? Duvall learned to play guitar and sing, solely for this 
				part.       
				 EMI Films, Antron 
				Media; Universal Pictures, Associated Film Dist. Corp.
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