Directed by Bruce Beresford The small Texas roadside motel upon which Mac Sledge (Robert Duvall) stumbles might as well exist outside of the real world. It's the place of his rebirth, a slow, arduous process that takes place over the course of this film. The movie opens there with a drunken fight that leaves him … Continue reading Tender Mercies (1983)
robert duvall
Crazy Heart (2009)
Directed by Scott Cooper In Crazy Heart an aging musician finds renewed purpose thanks to a brief romance with a much younger woman. That musician is Bad Blake (Jeff Bridges), a country star who has traded in theaters and stadiums for bowling alleys and dive bars. Blake's journey is ripe with movie cliches and tropes. He's … Continue reading Crazy Heart (2009)
Phenomenon (1996)
Directed by Jon Turtletaub There's a little It's a Wonderful Life in the small-town melodrama Phenomenon, starring a guy (John Travolta) who surely wouldn't have been offered the role were it not for the success of 1994's Pulp Fiction. Travolta plays an affable and affectionately dull mechanic named George Malley. He's very, very much an everyman, purposefully so in … Continue reading Phenomenon (1996)
To Kill a Mockingbird (1962)
Directed by Robert Mulligan To Kill a Mockingbird announces itself before the film even begins. The grand Elmer Bernstein music, coupled with intimate close ups of trinkets that will gather meaning (but already have a great deal if you're familiar with the book) throughout the film suggest something important, like the source text is the … Continue reading To Kill a Mockingbird (1962)
True Grit (1969)
Directed by Henry Hathaway John Wayne more or less plays John Wayne in True Grit. As Rooster Cogburn he is an old Marshall, drunk and lazy but quick with a gun and honorable to boot when the moment calls. Cogburn is the man young Mattie Ross (Kim Darby) turns to for help tracking down Tom Chaney, … Continue reading True Grit (1969)
The Rain People (1969)
Directed by Francis Ford Coppola In The Rain People, a pregnant housewife, Natalie (Shirley Knight) leaves her husband and hits the road. She knows not where she is headed, and her aimless travels introduce her to two men whose eventual showdown leaves her hopeless and distraught. Roger Ebert compares this film to Easy Rider, and it's clear … Continue reading The Rain People (1969)
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