Editing Tender Mercies (section)

===Critical response===
{{Quote box |quoted=true |bgcolor=#FFFFF0 |salign=center |width=225px |align=right | quote  = The excitement of ''Tender Mercies'' lies below the surface. It's not the quick charge of fast action, flashy performances, or eye-zapping cuts. Rather, it's something much more rare — the thrill of watching characters grow, personalities deepen, relationships ripen and mature. It's the pleasure of rediscovering the dramatic richness of decency, honesty, compassion, and a few other qualities that have become rare visitors to the silver screen. It feels good to have them back again. | source = David Sterritt, ''[[The Christian Science Monitor]]''<ref name="CSM0310"/>}}
''Tender Mercies'' received mostly positive reviews.<ref name="Briley116" /><ref name="Slaw181" /> [[Richard Corliss]] of ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'' declared it the "best American movie of the new year".<ref name=Corliss>{{Cite magazine|last=Corliss|first=Richard|author-link=Richard Corliss|title=Heart of Texas|magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]]|date=1983-03-28|page=63, Cinema (section)|url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,923431,00.html|access-date=2009-03-04|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081222020425/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,923431,00.html|archive-date=2008-12-22|url-status=dead}}</ref> Carol Olten of ''[[The San Diego Union-Tribune]]'' declared ''Tender Mercies'' the best movie of 1983, and "the most poignant, but forthright, film of the year, with a brilliant performance by Robert Duvall".<ref>{{Cite news|last=Olten|first=Carol|title=Best in films '83|work=[[The San Diego Union-Tribune]]|date=1983-12-25|page=E-11, Entertainment (section)}}</ref> [[Janet Maslin]] of ''The New York Times'' wrote, "This is a small, lovely and somewhat overloaded film about small-town life, loneliness, country music, marriage, divorce and parental love, and it deals with all of these things in equal measure. Still, the absence of a single, sharply dramatic story line is a relatively small price to pay for the plainness and clarity with which these other issues are defined." She also praised Beresford's direction, which she said lent the movie a light touch.<ref name=Maslin>{{Cite news|last=Maslin|first=Janet|author-link=Janet Maslin|title="Tender Mercies," Robert Duvall as Texan|work=[[The New York Times]]|date=1983-03-04|page=8, Weekend Desk, Section C, Column 1|url=https://movies.nytimes.com/mem/movies/review.html?_r=2&res=9905E0DA103BF937A35750C0A965948260&scp=1&sq=tender%20mercies%20duvall&st=cse}}</ref> The ''Times''{{'}} Canby wrote, "In all respects ''Tender Mercies'' is so good that it has the effect of rediscovering a kind of film fiction that has been debased over the decades by hack moviemakers, working according to accepted formulas, frequently to the applause of the critics as well as the public."<ref name="Slaw167"/> [[Leonard Maltin]] gave it three out of four stars, applauding Duvall in particular and describing it as a "winning but extremely low-key film", though he characterized Foote's screenplay as "not so much a story as a series of vignettes".<ref>{{Harvnb|Maltin|2003|p=1388}}.</ref> David Sterritt of ''[[The Christian Science Monitor]]'' praised the film for its values, for underscoring the good in people and for avoiding flashiness and quick cuts in favor of a subtle and deliberately paced story, while maintaining a [[Motion picture rating system|PG rating]] and omitting sex, drugs and violence. He also felt, however, that it tended toward melodrama on a few occasions and that the soundtrack had "a bit of syrupy music ... especially at the end".<ref name="CSM0310"/>

Some reviews were less favorable. [[David Ansen]] of ''[[Newsweek]]'' said, "While one respects the filmmaker's small-is-beautiful philosophy, this story may indeed be too small for its britches.&nbsp;... Beresford's nice little movie seems so afraid to make a false move that it runs the danger of not moving at all."<ref name="Ansen"/> Linda Beath of ''[[The Globe and Mail]]'' said Duvall's performance was "fabulous," but that the film was "very slight" compared to Beresford's Australian pictures.<ref name="Beath"/> Gary Arnold of ''[[The Washington Post]]'' panned the film, criticizing its mood and tempo and describing Buckley as its only true asset: "''Tender Mercies'' fails because of an apparent dimness of perception that frequently overcomes dramatists: they don't always know when they've got ahold of the wrong end of the story they want to tell."<ref>{{Cite news|last=Arnold|first=Gary|title=Miserable "Miracles"; Duvall: Movin' Slow On the Lone Prairie|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|date=1983-04-29|page=B1, Style (section)}}</ref>

Many critics specifically praised Duvall's performance. Sterritt called it "one of the most finely wrought achievements to reach the screen in recent memory."<ref>{{Cite news|last=Sterritt|first=David|title="Angelo My Love" is brilliant, compassionate; It all started when Robert Duvall spotted a gypsy boy...|work=[[The Christian Science Monitor]]|date=1983-04-28}}</ref> In Corliss's description, "Duvall's aging face, a road map of dead ends and dry gulches, can accommodate rage or innocence or any ironic shade in between. As Mac he avoids both melodrama and condescension, finding climaxes in each small step toward rehabilitation, each new responsibility shouldered."<ref name=Corliss/> Ansen said, "Robert Duvall does another of his extraordinary disappearing acts. He vanishes totally inside the character of Mac Sledge."<ref name="Ansen">{{Cite news|last=Ansen|first=David|author-link=David Ansen|title=Badlands Ballad|work=[[Newsweek]]|date=1983-03-07|page=78B, Movies (section)}}</ref> Maslin said he "so thoroughly transformed into Mac that he even walks with a Texan's rolling gait"; she also complimented the performances of the supporting cast.<ref name=Maslin/> According to a review in ''[[People (magazine)|People]]'', "Duvall gives it everything he has, which is saying a great deal. His beery singing voice is a revelation, and his unfussy, brightly burnished acting is the kind for which awards were invented." The review also described Betty Buckley as "bitchy and brilliant".<ref>{{Cite news|work=[[People (magazine)|People]]|title=Tender Mercies|date=1983-03-28|page=8, Picks & Pans, Screen (section)}}</ref> Duvall was praised as well for pulling off his first true romantic role; the actor said of the response, "This is the only film where I've heard people say I'm sexy. It's real romantic. Rural romantic. I love that part almost more than anything."<ref name="WP0501"/>

Reflecting on the film a decade after it came out, critic [[Danny Peary]] said he found Duvall's restrained portrayal "extremely irritating" and criticized the entire cast, save for Buckley, for their "subdued, emotions-in-check, phony 'honest' performances. You just wish the whole lot of them would start tickling each other."<ref name="Peary">{{Harvnb|Peary|1993|p=265}}.</ref> In his book ''Alternate Oscars'', listing his personal opinions of who should have won the Academy Awards each year, Peary excluded ''Tender Mercies'' from all the categories, and chose [[Michael Caine]] as deserving of the Best Actor honor for ''[[Educating Rita]]''.<ref name="Peary"/> In June 2009, critic [[Roger Ebert]] included ''Tender Mercies'' in ''The Great Movies'', his series of reviews celebrating what he considers the most important films of all time. He praised what he called one of Duvall's most understated performances, as well as Foote's minimalist storytelling and the restraint and patience of Beresford's direction. Ebert said of Foote's screenplay, "The down-to-earth quality of his characters drew attention away from his minimalist storytelling; all the frills were stripped away.&nbsp;... Rarely does a movie elaborate less and explain more than ''Tender Mercies''."<ref>{{Cite news |last=Ebert |first=Roger |author-link=Roger Ebert |title=Tender Mercies :: rogerebert.com :: Great Movies |date=2009-06-17 |work=[[Chicago Sun-Times]] |url=http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090617/REVIEWS08/906179983/1023 |access-date=2009-11-21 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100129001424/http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=%2F20090617%2FREVIEWS08%2F906179983%2F1023 |archive-date=2010-01-29 |url-status=live }}</ref>

{{Rotten Tomatoes prose|score=82|count=28|average=7.6|consensus=Anchored by a deftly understated performance from Robert Duvall, ''Tender Mercies'' is a quiet character study that leaves a lasting emotional impact.|ref=yes |access-date=December 30, 2023}}