Hello. I'm Bill of Salon. I'm a film critic and author of the book 101 Films You Could See Before You Die. And this is off the Marquee, where we spend a minute with a movie you might consider revisiting. In 1983, the film Tender Mercies brought a new type of country music narrative to the screen. Robert Duvall portrays Max Sledge a famous country singer who has hit bottom with his drinking and rowdy lifestyle. Maroon to the gas station in rural Texas, sledge befriends Rosa, played by Tess Harper and her young son Sonny, played by Alan Hubbard. While seeking redemption, Sledge's past catches up with him when a reporter, played by Paul Gleason comes to the small town to get a story.

Mr. Sledge? Yes, sir. Are you Max Sledge, a singer? I was a singer. I mean, I am Max Sledge. You were married to Dixie Scott, weren't you? I got nothing to say about that. She never married again, did she? Are you remarried? Is that your boy? That's not your boy, is it? Mr. Sledge, it took me quite a while to track you down. I'd really appreciate an interview, not to say to anybody.

Sledge starts over in the small town and begins to face his past. In this quick exchange with a stranger outside of a grocery store sledge exhibits a sense of humor about his situation.

Hey, Mr. Were you really Max Sledge? Yes, ma'am. I guess I was.

With an amazing performance by Robert Duvall and a terrific supporting cast tender Mercies is a great movie about country music and also an insightful meditation about what it means to be an artist. I'm Billips Allen, and this has been off the marquee. You're listening to 91.7 W yxr we.