Movie Notes: Crazy Heart

February 26th, 2010

= 4 stars

Starring Jeff Bridges, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Robert Duvall
Directed by Scott Cooper

Synopsis

Worn-out, chain-smoking, alcoholic country singer Bad Blake (Jeff Bridges) has literally hit the end of the road, playing crappy venues in the American Southwest.

The Good

• Bridges, totally engrossed in his role, delivers a solid, mesmerizing core performance, even contributing his own vocals. Am no country fan, but I soon became engrossed in Bad Blake, the crappy venues he plays, and his dejected plight, even down to his odd habit of leaving his pants undone at every opportunity. Gyllenhaal is also reliably solid as single mother reporter Jane, in which Bad subconsciously senses a last chance at redemption.
• Some amusing comment on the “real” country artists vs. the mass-produced type. A young, former band mate of Bad’s named Tommy Sweet (Colin Farrell) has hit the big time, yet has the wisdom to remember Bad and eventually give him a deserved opportunity. The music sounds honest, in large part to the guiding hand of T-Bone Burnett (O Brother Where Art Thou, Walk the Line) — also explaining the appearance of a Sam Phillips song.
• A neat moment with Duvall and Bridges in a boat neatly sums up the importance of Bad’s talent: life is rough and short, yet its fleeting emotion can be expertly captured for future reference by a songwriter. And country music is particularly suited to simple wisdom.

The Bad

• Although Jane makes some choices that are thankfully, in keeping with her character, the plot becomes predictable and the resolution a bit too tidy.

Conclusion

Bridges’ engrossing performance rises above the paint-by-numbers plot. Shame Bad Blake isn’t real; I guess the second best thing to do is buy the soundtrack.

IMDB: Crazy Heart
Wikipedia: Crazy Heart
Rotten Tomatoes: Crazy Heart 92%