Tomorrow

In the same year that he appeared in The Godfather, Robert Duvall gave one of his finest performances in Tomorrow, a small independent film that remains one of the lesser-known gems of his distinguished career. Adapted from a William Faulkner short story by the great Texan playwright and screenwriter Horton Foote (who also adapted To Kill a Mockingbird, featuring Duvall's memorable film debut as "Boo Radley," and wrote Tender Mercies, the 1983 drama that earned Duvall an Academy Award), Tomorrow tells a simple tale of gentle people, offering an enlightening portrait of compassion and unconditional love. Duvall plays Fentry, a Mississippi cotton farmer in the early 1900s who leaves his father's farm to work as the winter watchman at a dormant sawmill where he encounters Sarah (Olga Bellin), a pregnant woman abandoned by her husband and suffering from a life-threatening illness. Although they marry, Fentry (portrayed by Duvall as a kind of holy innocent) eventually must raise the woman's child alone, until his efforts are disrupted by a heartbreaking claim of familial custody (the story is framed by a murder trial, the outcome of which leads to the film's resonant and quietly moving conclusion). Seemingly tailor-made for Duvall, Tomorrow, which has much to say about endurance, integrity, and uncommon decency under difficult circumstances, boasts an excellent DVD transfer here, along with an interview with Duvall and Foote, and a booklet containing the original short story. For Duvall's many admirers, this is a must-see film. Highly recommended. (J. Shannon)