'Mercies' slow but strong
I# excellent acting is
the criterion movies
are judged by, then
"Tender Mercies" is a
great film.
Set in a remote West
Texan town, "Tender
Mercies" is a story
about people — and
the actors come across as people. Robert
Duvall turns in a brilliant performance as
Mac Sledge, a former great country singer
who is down on his luck and stranded in a
Texas motel.
His way back up the road to success and
his return to singing is sparked by the
owner of the motel, a young widow (Tess
Harper) and her 8-year-old son (Allan
Hubbard).
The conflict in the movie is supplied by
Sledge's desire to see his 18-year-old
daughter (Ellen Barkin) from an earlier mar
riage and his ex-wife’s (Betty Buckley)
desire to keep him away.
Duvall, whose other performances in
r
-ry—n\
elude the, role of Maj. Frank Burns in the
movie "M*A*S*H," appearances in both
"Godfather" movies and the role of the
crazy air cavalry officer in "Apocalypse
Now," plays Sledge as a quiet man — but
his expressions and gestures add enormous
depth to the character. The one scene of
Sledge in a bathtub waiting for his baptism
is itself worth the price of admission.
Harper and Hubbard also turn in strong
supporting performances. Hubbard, in par
ticular, does a good job of getting his
character across without falling into the
"cute kid" routine.
Buckley, better known for her role in TV's
"Eight is Enough" combines the right
amounts of show-biz hardness and hysteria
in her performance.
The problems with this film are more in
what isn't seen than what is. There are
some disturbing jumps in the time scheme
of the movie. We see Sledge begin work at
the hotel, then miss several months while
he gives up drinking and continues work.
We see him propose, but miss the wedding.
As Max Sledge, a'down-and-out country singer, Robert Duvall delivers a great performance
in "Tender Mercies."
This understatement can leave the viewer
with the feeling that he has missed
something important.
Australian director Bruce Beresford, who
is known for his work in "Breaker Morant,"
"The Getting of Wisdom," and "Baby, the
Rain Must Fall" sets a slow and leisurely
pace through the movie; viewers more in
tune with "Raiders of the Lost Arc" may
become bored — but the movie is well
worth some patience.
Beresford takes full advantage of the
Texas landscape to shoot sbme striking
long-distance shots of the Texas landscape.
An unexpected bonus is the country
music. Duvall wrote two of the 10 songs in
the movie and performs four of them — and
does a good job of it. He can now add sing
ing to his list of accomplishments. Buckley
also does a good job in her singing
performances.
“Tender Mercies" is rated PC and is now
playing at the Mayflower Theatre.
Frank Shaw
On record
Style Council breaks from the confines of rock'n'roll
"Speak Like a Child" 45
"Money-Co-Round" EP
"a' Paris" EP
Style Council
Polydor
Paul Weller knows well the bitterness and
cruelty of being called a genius — a
spokesman for a generation of young
Britons. Weller wears these titles with much
the same sullen and sarcastic bravado as
one would wear the King of Fools' cracked
crown.
Unfortunately, and much as Weller
resists it, he is indeed a bona fide
spokesman for a generation, and, in the
keenest sense, a genius. Weller's body of
work with The Jam and now with Style
Council provides indelible proof of his
genius.
It's difficult to talk about Style Council
without mentioning The Jam. Style Council
was formed from the rubble of The Jam as a
stunned populace looked on. Everyone
believed The jam would go on as durably as
the The Clash. The Jam were the pro
totypical neo-mod band of the late '70s and
really were the ones to fulfill Pete
Townshend's promise of "maximum R&B."
But Weller disbanded the group at the
height of their popularity in Europe and
Japan and just moments away from break
ing in this country.
Why? Because he felt that if they went on
it would only shatter all they had created.
Since spring Style Council has released
two EPs and a 45: "Speak Like a Child,”
"Money-Co-Round" and the latest "a'
Paris." Each is markedly different from the
previous, both in personnel and musical
direction.
"Speak Like a Child" is Weller's stepping
off from the trappings of The Jam. At this
time Style Council consisted of Weller,
Mick Talbot and drummer Zeke Manyika
from Orange Juice. "Speak Like a Child" is
an upbeat number deftly using synthesizer
and a horn section. The horn section is
reminiscent of the late '60s Stax/Atlantic
sound Weller became so obsessed with at
the close of The Jam's career.
The EP "Money-Go-Round" contains the
title track along with "Headstart for Hap
piness" and "Mick's Up." "Money-Go
Round" is a buoyant musical diatribe *
against the moneyed class’ manipulation of
the lower classes in Britain. It's the class
struggle put to a danceable beat. This sting
ing political protest is reminiscent of The
Jam's early days when they, The Clash and
the Sex Pistols were at the fore of social and
musical protest.
"Money-Go-Round" was inspired by the
chauvinistic absurdity accompanying the
Falklands War and opens a vein similar to
Elvis Costello's ire in "Pills and Soap."
Weller hates the so-called rock culture
and rock star myth. He does everything he
can to shatter that image. His distaste for
the accessories of rock'n'roll are evident in
Style Council's latest EP "a’ Paris."
These tracks were recorded in Paris
"because," Weller writes on the liner notes,
"we felt they all had a similar 'Blue Mood'
and a certain French flavour about them."
The "Blue Mood" is apparent in the emo
tion and style of the songs. The songs are as
"blue" as the Dave Brubeck Quartet during
their "Take Five" and “Blue Rondo a la
Turk" period.
"Long Hot Summer" is an electronic funk
track that shows again the versatility of a
few instruments. Weller has learned the ef
fectiveness of restraint in his arrangements.
Probably the best track on "a' Paris" is
the torchy "The Paris Match." Weller
becomes again the "miserable bugger." It
is his most effective guise. This song
sounds and contains sentiments like "The
Bitterest Pill", but lacks the strings and
dense arrangement. The accordion break in
< "The Paris Match" is startling and might
have flopped, but it works within the am
bience of the song.
Cort Fernald
LUNCH - DINNER
SUPPER
HAPPY HOURS
MUSIC
Live Jazz
Bill Sabol Trio
CARRY OUT ORDERS TO GO!
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Smeede Hotel Bldg.
Acrths IrtMii the Hull Center
on Willamette
Order to go 343-9587
.
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at your
Bookstore.
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on campus too.
1340 Alder 2588 Willamette
Look for tke Cafe Express...