Tender Mercies is a 1983 American drama film directed by Bruce Beresford and written by Horton Foote. It stars Robert Duvall as singer-songwriter Mac Sledge, a former country music star whose career and relationship with his ex-wife and daughter were wrecked by alcoholism. Recovering from his affliction, Sledge seeks to turn his life around through his relationship with a young widow and her son in rural Texas. The supporting cast includes Tess Harper, Betty Buckley, Wilford Brimley, Ellen Barkin and Allan Hubbard.

Plot

Washed-up, alcoholic country singer Mac Sledge awakens at a run-down Texas roadside motel and gas station after a night of heavy drinking. He meets the owner, a young widow named Rosa Lee, and offers to perform maintenance work there in exchange for a room. Rosa, whose husband died in the Vietnam War, is raising her young son, Sonny, on her own. She agrees to let Mac stay on condition that he does not drink while working. During quiet evenings, they sit alone and share parts of their life stories.

Awards