Crazy Heart
Dir: Scott Cooper
Rating: 3.5/5.0
Fox Searchlight Pictures
111 Minutes
To say Bad Blake (Jeff Bridges) has seen better days is to put it mildly. The once world famous country star has been reduced to playing bowling alleys in the dusty, nameless small towns of New Mexico, practically working for booze. A chain-smoking alcoholic pushing 60, he is in such bad shape physically that he can barely make it through a musical set without nearly breaking down. Other than his professional pride, the only thing Bad has left is an old, beat up truck.
Bad's luck changes for the better when he meets Jean Craddock (Maggie Gyllenhaal), a twentysomething reporter who interviews him for the local paper. It doesn't take long for good old Bad to put the moves on the much younger Jean. Having a four-year-old son, Buddy, and emotional scars from a failed marriage, Jean enters the relationship cautiously. This awakens Bad from his drunken stupor and he tries to put his life back together again. He swallows his pride and takes the charity gigs offered by his younger protégé, the current country singing rage Tommy Sweet (Colin Farrell). He attempts to reconnect with a 28-year-old son he hasn't seen in years. He joins A.A. after a sobering wake up call. But mostly, he tries to be a better man for Jean and Buddy, knowing he's run out of second chances.
Hmmm ... A washed up has-been who seeks redemption through the love a younger woman and the reconciliation of an estranged child while overcoming an addiction. Sound familiar? It's The Wrestler ... but with country music. That's not intended as a slight. The fact that Crazy Heart is still so compelling in spite of its predictable, almost clichéd, plot is a testament to its acting and directing.
Like The Wrestler, Crazy Heart relies on the strength of a performance by an overlooked and under-appreciated actor. Jeff Bridges doesn't quite have the demons that Mickey Rourke does nor is his acting quite as Method. Bridges has always had more of an easy going quality to him. Even in his darkest roles, there was a likability that he just couldn't shake. And it's this quality that makes him more tragic in a way. While Rourke wears his heart on his sleeve, Bridges covers his up, implying even deeper wounds.
Gyllenhaal has never looked so radiant. Hers is a natural beauty that is deeper than the cosmetic beauty of most Hollywood stars. She possesses a shy, tender vulnerability. We feel her joy, her pain, and her fears. But she's no pushover. She is strong and uncompromising, particularly when it comes to her son. It's this combination that makes her performance so intriguing; she could have easily been played as just another codependent enabler. Farrell is surprisingly good as Tommy Sweet. There is an unease to him that suggests that while he feels beholden to Bad and tries to help, he's also trapped by the machinations of stardom. Robert Duvall is solid as Bad's supportive bar owning buddy, while James Keane keeps things lively as Bad's no nonsense manager.
The original music by T-Bone Burnett and Stephen Bruton is in the style of outlaw country movement of the Highwaymen. This is simple, old school music thankfully stripped of the studio enhancement that plagues modern music. Bridges and Farrell are up to the challenge of performing their own songs. Bridges, in particular, is a joy to watch. He has a warm, grizzled voice that has the feel of a comfortable, well-worn jacket. Bridges' characteristic effortlessness serves him well here. It's not hard to imagine Bad Blake alongside the likes of Kris Kristofferson.
First-time director, Scott Cooper, is wise to complement Bridges' invisible art ethos. A former actor himself, Cooper keeps the focus on the actors and manages to avoid excessive melodrama. The turning points in the plot happen naturally and aren't forced. They aren't telegraphed and feel more inevitable than predictable.
I'd be surprised if Jeff Bridges does not win the Academy Award this year for Best Actor. Having been nominated four times before, he's long overdue. But make no mistake, if he does win, it wouldn't be a thinly veiled lifetime achievement award. Unlike Al Pacino in Scent of a Woman and Denzel Washington in Training Day, Bridges' performance in Crazy Heart stands on its own.
by James Shelledy
