Tender Mercies Filming Locations: Where Was The 1980s Movie Filmed?

Fans of the classic movie Tender Mercies will be thrilled to know that we have spotted the filming locations for the sequences in it. Directed by Bruce Beresford, Tender Mercies follows the story of Mac Sledge, an alcoholic country singer with a troubled life who is trying to move forward and do his best to put his life back together.

Philip S. Hobel produced the film, while Horton Foote wrote the film’s storyline. Tender Mercies didn’t do well at the box office, but it did receive positive reviews from the audience. Tender Mercies was considered the best film of the time that was full of love and second chances.

EMI Films undertook the production of the series, and the plot of the film was inspired by Hortin’s nephew as he saw his nephew trying to make it big as a country singer and failing in his attempts only to go down the rabbit hole and taking alcohol as a coping mechanism.

Tender Mercies takes its audience on the journey of building broken relations and moving forward in life. Tender Mercies was first released on March 4, 1983, and had a run time of 92 minutes. The film stars Robert Duvall in the character of Mac Sledge, the film’s protagonist. Tess Harper plays the character of Rosa, Mac’s love interest; Betty Buckley plays Dixie, Mac’s ex-wife. Wilford Brimley plays the role of Harry; Ellen Barkin plays the role of Sue Anne, Mac’s estranged daughter in the lead.

Allan Hubbard played the role of Sonny, Lenny Von Dohlen played the role of Robert, Paul Gleason portrayed the role of a reporter, and Norman Bennett in the character of Reverend Hotchkiss in supporting roles. The film is based on the themes of love, family, and to a point, spiritual resurrection.

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Tender Mercies – Premise

Tender Mercies focuses on Mac Sledge, who is a washed-up country singer, and him trying to rebuild the life he destroyed. It begins with Mac waking up in a run-down roadside motel in Texas after he spent the previous night getting drunk and wasted. As Mac goes to check out, he meets the owner of the motel, a beautiful young widow named Rosa. This moves forward with Rob offering to work in the motel as the maintenance guy in exchange for a place to stay.

Rosa agrees to give the job to Mac on the condition he doesn’t drink during work hours. Rosa is also a singer-mother with a son after her husband got killed during the Vietnam War. Mac and Rosa begin to get attracted to each other as they spend evenings together talking about their past. Mac’s feelings for Rosa lead him to give up on alcohol and start his life anew with Rosa.

Rosa and Mac get married after Mac maintains sobriety for a while. As life begins to turn around for Mac, he gets a visit from a news reporter who has decided to write his story. The reporter informs Mac about interviewing Dixie Rob’s ex-wife. Dixie is a suffering country singer who Mac visits during her performance and realizes she is singing the songs he wrote. Rob leaves the concert halfway but gives Dixie’s manager his new music. Rob is reluctant to share his past with other members.

Dixie warns Mac to stay away from their daughter as she is still bitter about the way Mac treats them. Harry informs Mac that his new song is useless to Dixie as the world of country music has changed. Mac, hurt by this, drives in rage and nearly kills himself before buying Whiskey for himself. Mac pours the Whiskey out and returns to Rosa and Sonny. Sonny and Mac get baptized in Rosa’s church.

Sue Ann visits Rob to know and bond with her father. Mac reveals he used to hit Dixie, and she filed for divorce after he almost killed her in one of his drunken fits. Sue leaves after informing him she is eloping with her boyfriend, even though Dixie objects. Mac grows closer to Sonny as he gets bullied by his batchmates for having a dead father. Mac’s happiness is short-lived as he loses Sue in a car accident.

As he is attending his daughter’s funeral, he complains to Rosa about Dixie never giving up her career for him. The film ends on a happy term for Rob as he continues his life with Sonny and Rosa.

Tender Mercies Filming Locations

The filming of the film began in November 1938, and the film was mostly shot in Waxahachie and Palmer.

1. Waxahachie

Waxahachie is a seat of government in Ellis, located in Texas, with a population of 41,140, and it served as the primed location for the film. The location was chosen by the crew to show the abandoned, lonely deserted streets in the film.

The barren local areas of the seat were utilized for filming, and the director avoided the picturesque architecture. The film looked authentic with the local barrels. The county is landscaped beauty that is visited by tourists all around the year.

2. Arlington

Arlington is a city located in Texas that forms parts of the mid-cities region of Dallas. The city is popular for its colleges and education centers. This location was used by the crew to shoot some scenes of Tender Mercies. The weather is nice in the city throughout the year, and it is visited by tourists often.

3. Palmer

Palmer is a beautiful town located in Ellis County in Texas that served as the primary location for filming the film Tender Mercies. A number of scenes of Tender Mercies were shot in Palmer. Some of the scenes in the film involving Mac and Rosa were shot in this location. Palmer is a great attraction for tourists.

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