"I Don't Trust Happiness" ~ "Tender Mercies" (1983)

“Tender Mercies” is a movie directed by Bruce Beresford and written by Horton Foote. It stars Robert Duvall.

When I watch a movie like this, it makes me sick to my stomach, because I write with one thing in mind “how do I get someone to read it?” So I put a lot of phony plot twists in order for it to be deemed interesting. This movie is the complete opposite. If I were to pitch you the idea today, it’d never get made. But I have to tell you, the character in this type of movie resonates. And it cuts to the core of human values, boils it down to its basics and lets you decide. The movies today will never do that.  I bet the under 40’s exec in some studio would more than likely wipe their asses with even the notion that you can make a movie this quiet, gentle, yet speaks volumes.

One of the reasons this wouldn’t exist today, because they are about people we often don’t think about. Small town people. The so-called “fly over” states. Because they’re very removed from that sexy urban living. Fast moving lights, with a promise of stimulation. Out in the corn fields, you can forget that. But even that dynamic has changed. With the internet, even the yokel-est of hayseeds can be more hip. Certainly more hip than me.

I wish they made movies like this again. Not gonna happen. Even though there is a LOT of universal truth that can be heard in everyone who lives in America. Dreams of family, disappointment, dreams, and failure. It speaks to most people. Most people I think that slow down enough to hear themselves. To be fair, during the time this was released, it only went to three theaters. Yes, you heard it right. THREE theaters. Universal Studios buried it, because they sunk all their marketing into “Scarface.” They just didn’t care. “Tender Mercies” was a tax write off as far as they were concerned. It went on to be nominated for 5 Academy Awards.