Movie Review: Crazy Heart

Lots of booze, lots of cigarettes, lots of one-night stands and lots of divorces: What does that all add up to? Nothing; except you can’t take away a God given talent. When given half a chance, that talent will rise again, to the top. How bad does it have to get before a person wakes up and says, “I want to get sober?” Where is rock-bottom? This is Crazy Heart; the story of a washed up, aging, country music singer/songwriter and dangerous alcoholic, on a long downhill spiral. Reduced to playing in bowling alleys and saloons with local teenage pick-up bands, he can’t get through a set without hurling out the back door. Between the alcohol and the chain smoking, you don’t know what will kill him first. Jeff Bridges, as Bad Blake, is so outstanding, so believable; he takes this old story, and turns it into a gripping tale. We all know Bridges can do anything. He was the President of the United States in The Contender, the rightfully paranoid professor in Arlington Road and a murderous husband in Jagged Edge (just to name a few of his exceptional and under-appreciated roles). He outdoes himself with this Oscar worthy performance. Scott Cooper, the director and screenwriter, does a remarkable job bringing the cast together and getting the absolute best performances out of everybody. Maggie Gyllenhaul, as Jane, Bad’s love interest, with her sad eyes, is tender and raw. She does something special with a very traditional role. She plays a single mom who takes a big chance on a beat-up, liquor-drenched, cowboy (very chancy indeed, for her 4 year old son). Colin Farrell, expert at putting his Irish on hold, does a stellar and perfectly understated (and uncredited) job as Tommy Sweet, Bad’s protégé, who has now far surpassed his mentor. Who knew Farrell could sing? I don’t think his agent knew. But he got up in front of 12,000 people at the Journal Pavilion in Albuquerque, New Mexico and did a fantastic job. Fun! Robert Duvall is right at home playing Wayne, Blake's longtime friend, in a movie that is very reminiscent of the one that won him an Academy Award in 1983, the flawless, Tender Mercies. Crazy Heart is an 'upbeat' version of the very very downbeat novel written by Thomas Cobb (co-screenwriter) which does not provide a happy ending. American moviegoers like happy endings. This is a little movie that does not need a big screen but it does lend itself to the intimacy of a dark movie theater. See it for the outstanding performances and the excellent original score by T Bone Burnett - the Producer and award winning songwriter.