Crazy Heart

Watch this film for a couple reasons. It's always fun to see a performance that wins an Oscar. Of course I am talking about Jeff Bridges. He is quickly becoming one of my favorite actors ever. He has come into his own and it looks so easy for him. He just doesn't seem to try and that's why he is elite. After 5 nominations through his career, Crazy Heart finally brought him the gold and deservedly so. He is absolutely brilliant in his portrayal as a drunken country singer who used to be star, but now at the tail end of a career in which retirement is not an option, he finds himself playing in front of 25 people (who are at least fans) in dive bars and bowling alleys. Unhappy with his life, he blames everyone but himself. He is an alcoholic who doesn't deny that. His biggest issue doesn't lye with doing crap shows or being drunk all the time, but with a man named Tommy Sweet. Colin Farrell delivers an outright superb performance as a country singer loved by thousands. Bad Blake (Bridges) issue is more of a resentment than anything else. Bad taught Tommy everything he knew and while Tommy spent the majority of his early career staring at Bad back, he was able to break free and become a super star in his own right. The writing does a great job of constantly mentioning Tommy and the disdain Bad has for him. It really makes him out to be a jerk who selfishly walked out on Bad Blake and never looked back. Until we met Tommy we have this image of how he is, but Farrell delivers anything but. He is genuine, never forgot how he got started, and still respects Bad and what he does. The visuals of the low budget film are awesome. Nothing special, but I did love that '78 Suburban Bad tours out of. With the key turn powered rear window to the drapes inside, it really is a POS, but it's his POS and it never lets him down. There is no end in sight for Bad, then he meets Jean (Maggie Gyllenhaal), a local small town reporter in Santa Fe. She wants an interview and he gives her one. They hit it off and it turns into the relationship Bad needs more than she does. I think her 4 year old son is what really keeps Bad coming back. He needs stability, and he also feels he must pay for his mistakes. Without an original song in 3 years, he doesn't know what to do next. Tommy asks for some songs he can record, which would help both Tommy and put money into Bad's pocket. As much as he doesn't want to work for Tommy, he really has no choice. I was loving this movie when it got a whole lot better merely by the appearance of an actor of such a high caliber that his appearance, however brief it may be, can improve something that is already great. I'm talking about Robert Duvall. He plays an old friend of Bad's that owns a bar in his hometown. Him and Bridges in screen together really was a treat. I put off watching this film in fear that it would be laced with "Hollywood Southern Accents" that would be unbearable. Not so. Bridges pretty much sounds southern naturally and he is smart enough not to over do it or try to hard. The one I was really worried about was Farrell. When he first had some lines I was nervous that it could wreck what was a great movie. Wrong again. His performance and delivery did absolutely no shame to the southern draw. When you think about it, Europeans do a much better southern than most non southern American actors. Think about Jude Law in Cold Mountain vs. Nic Cage in Con Air? Need I say more? Will Bad Blake ever catch the break he has wanted and longed for? Watch and see it unfold. I would also like to add, that this is not the typical Hollywood movie of Rainbows and lollipops. It's dark and depressing, and sometimes down right terrifying. Watch it and you will understand that last adjective I used during one particular scene.

NBM rates Crazy Heart - A Cinematic Work of Art

Buy It!!