Classic 80s Movie: “Tender Mercies”

Today’s Classic 80s Movie guest post comes from Paul Graunke.

Movie Title: Tender Mercies

Year: 1983 (Oscar nominated for best picture of the year)

Writer: Horton Foote (for which he won an Oscar)

Lead Actors: Robert Duvall (won an Oscar for best actor), Tess Harper, Betty Buckley, Wilford Brimley, Ellen Barkin

Director: Bruce Beresford (Oscar nominated)

Plot Summary: A down and out country-western singer must confront the mistakes of his past as he struggles to build a new life and rebuild his musical career.

Why I Think This Is A Classic 80s Movies: “A designer knows he has achieved perfection not when there is nothing left to add, but when there is nothing left to take away.” — Antoine de Saint-Exupery. There is nothing left to take away from this film. With simplicity in plotting, economy of dialogue it explores the universal theme of personal redemption.

My Favorite Moment In The Movie: The scene in which the protagonist, Max Sledge, is baptized. There is no music underscoring the dramatic import, no melodrama. All that needs to be said is the single sentence spoken by the preacher during the ritual and an ‘amen’ from the congregation.

My Favorite Dialogue In the Movie: The marriage proposal scene. Here it is in its entirety:

EXT. GARDEN — DAY

Max Sledge and Rosa Lee (the widow who has taken him in) till vegetables.

MAX: I haven’t had a drink in two months. I think that drinking is behind me.

ROSA LEE: Do you? I’m glad. I don’t think it gets you anywhere.

MAX: Have you ever thought about marrying again?

ROSA LEE: Yeah, I have. Have you?

MAX: I have thought about it lately. I guess it’s no secret how I feel about you. A blind man could see that. (Hesitates) Would you think about marrying me?

ROSA LEE: Yeah, I will.

Key Things You Should Look For When Watching This Movie: How well the music complements the story and character arc. The melodies convey the emotional state of the protagonist, the lyrics his subjective need.

How effectively reversals are used. For example, early in the film, the young boy, Sonny, has to defend himself against teasing from other boys about the drunk his widowed mother has married. At the end of the movie, they envy the boy for the step-father he has in comparison to the louts their mothers have married or are dating.

Another example: The movie opens with Max as a loser, personally and professionally. In contrast, his ex-wife is a winner. Her singing career is doing well and she ‘owns’ the scene where they confront each other. But by the end of the move, their roles and relationship are reversed. He ‘owns’ the scene when they meet again. He stands strong, maintains his sobriety; in contrast, she is confined to bed and doped out on sedatives.

I am also impressed by how the movie quietly plays out the theme implicit in the title, “Tender Mercies”. Religion is central to the characters’ lives, but there is no pious posturing, no unctuous sermonizing. The movie portrays the characters with insight, restraint and respect. The still waters of their faith runs deep.

Thanks, Paul! To show our gratitude for your guest post, here’s a dash of creative juju for you. Whoosh!

Tomorrow: Another Classic 80s Movie!

I’m still looking for people to write guest posts in this series. Please email me with the movie you’d like to cover. Here is a template you should use:

Movie Title

Year

Writers (both screenwriters and any authors whose books were used as the basis for adaptation)

Lead Actors (Just the main ones)

Director

IMDB Plot Summary (You can find that directly under the Your Rating box. If you don’t feel the summary does the story justice, feel free to write up a logline of your own.)

Why I Think This Is A Classic 80s Movies (Feel free to write as much as you’d like up to a half-page or so.)

My Favorite Moment In The Movie

My Favorite Dialogue In the Movie (IMDB has a Quotes section for almost every movie, so you can find key dialogue in your movie’s site.)

Key Things You Should Look For When Watching This Movie

Please use this exact template to help me in the editing process.

If you can find a YouTube clip from the film or its trailer, include that URL.

When you are done with your guest post, you may simply copy and paste the content into an email to me.

I will run the posts in the order I receive them.

And if you emailed me about doing a specific movie, but haven’t sent in your guest post, now’s the time!

Thanks, everyone!

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