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Roger Ebert said it best in his review of\u00a0Crazy Heart\u00a0<\/em>about lead actor Jeff Bridges’ performance when he said, “The notion of a broke-down, boozy country singer is an archetype in pop culture. We’ve seen this story before. The difference is, Bad Blake makes us believe it happened to\u00a0him.” It’s such<\/em>\u00a0a simple statement, but so true. Bridges (Tron, The Big Lebowski)\u00a0<\/em>gives the performance of his legendary career and, rightfully so, his first Academy Award win. He is the highlight of a very good, albeit flawed, movie.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Country star Bad Blake is on the downhill slide of his career. An influential songwriter, Bad hasn’t written any new material in over five years. When he’s approached about the subject, he sometimes casually and sometimes defensively asks, “What’s wrong with my old stuff? My old stuff is good.” A one-time headliner, Bad now tours the southwest by himself in his beat-up truck, traveling 300 miles on any given day to perform at bowling alleys, dive bars, or any other rundown establishment that will hire him for a night or two. He is a raging alcoholic and spends his time after his shows sleeping with whichever woman seems to give him the most attention during his performances.<\/p>\n
To top it off, his prodigy Tommy Sweet (Colin Farrell –\u00a0In Bruges, The Recruit)<\/em>\u00a0has become a seeing sensation on his own, presumably already surpassing the level of greatness at the age of 30 that Bad ever reached. Whenever someone mentions Tommy’s name, he says, “I don’t want to talk about Tommy.” We are led to believe that there is some bad blood between the two stars, but we learn later this isn’t the case. In reality, Bad is jealous of Tommy’s success. He’s jealous that Tommy is rich, has a fleet of semi-trucks to hold everything for his tour, and sells out to large crowds at outdoor pavilions, while Bad has no money, keeps all of his equipment in his beat-up truck, and deems it a successful night if he gets 100 people at his show. Tommy actually pays homage to his mentor, both privately and publicly. Tommy makes it well known that Bad is as responsible for his success as anyone. Tommy invites Bad to open for him one night, comes on stage to sing a song, and asks him to stick around for the show so he can sing with him on a couple of tunes. Tommy does have one request of Bad, though. He asks him to write some new songs for him. Though Tommy is a singing sensation, he, like Blake, has not had any new material in quite some time. He is not afraid to admit that Bad is a much better songwriter than he is. In fact, Tommy would probably say that he fails compared to Bad.<\/p>\n When Blake is not performing, drinking, or sleeping around, he seems caught in his thoughts. The times when he is half-naked, sipping whiskey on a dirty comforter in a dingy roadside motel, we see the effects of a life gone wrong. He feels the most alive when he’s on stage, but when he’s not performing, it feels like it takes such an effort to get through his days. When he agrees to be interviewed by a\u00a0 local reporter named Jean Craddock (Maggie Gyllenhaal –\u00a0Stranger Than Fiction, The Dark Knight<\/em>), he quickly takes a liking to the young woman. He wins her over, and the two begin a relationship, even though he is some 25 years older and spends his days traveling and nights performing. She introduces Bad to her four-year-old son Buddy, and Bad falls for the young child as quickly as he did for Maggie. The real story begins here, with Bad needing to decide what life he wants to lead. Does he want to start a life with these two people who bring out the best in him, or will alcohol prevent this from occurring? Watching Bad struggle with his addiction and come to grips with his life is worth the price of admission alone.<\/p>\n Though Farrell has just a few scenes in the movie, he performs them perfectly. Tommy is a highly successful start, though he has no ego and seems to have a good head on his shoulders, knowing quite well that a rock star way of life ruined Bad. At the same time, he never finds fault in his mentor in the same fashion that many others have. Farrell conveys them perfectly. Farrell has come a long way as an actor this past decade. He is no longer associated with his playboy-type ways. He has worked hard to redefine himself as an actor and almost wholly shied away from the big blockbuster movies since 2004’s flop\u00a0Alexander<\/em>\u00a0in favor of spot roles or lead roles in smaller, more independent films. He’s on the screen in\u00a0Crazy Heart<\/em>\u00a0for no more than ten minutes, but this is the best performance I’ve seen him give. He makes Bad’s character appear all the more tragic.<\/p>\n The main problem with the movie was the onscreen chemistry between Bridges and Gyllenhaal. Gyllenhaal was miscast as Jean. She is much too beautiful, and though we know she has a history of making bad decisions with men, she still seems much too put together to waste her time with an old, sloppy, boozing man. Even on Bridges’ best day, it would be nearly impossible to buy into the relationship. Gyllenhaal couldn’t do anything differently. She played the part assigned to her very well. It is not her fault that she is too gorgeous. I like the idea of having Bad fall for somebody so hard that it makes him want to change his way of life. But the relationship between Bad and Jean not only seems forced and rushed but seems unfathomable altogether. An older, less attractive woman would have worked perfectly in this role. Again, I don’t find fault with Gyllenhaal at all. This relationship would never be believable, no matter what she or Bridges did. It is director Scott Cooper’s job to realize this at the start or during the movie’s filming. If this first-time director fixes this major problem, then\u00a0Crazy Heart<\/em>\u00a0has the makings of a classic.<\/p>\n Crazy Heart was my third favorite movie of 2009. Jeff Bridges gave the single best performance of the year. While I agree that\u00a0Crazy Heart<\/em>\u00a0was the same movie as 2008’s\u00a0The Wrestler<\/a>\u00a0<\/em>(in which Mickey Rourke gave his career performance as an aging professional wrestler), I found Bridge’s performance more believable. The story of\u00a0Crazy Heart<\/em>\u00a0is one to which more people will be able to relate. If you can see only one, watch\u00a0Crazy Heart<\/em>. However, I recommend watching both.<\/p>\n Plot 8\/10 Roger Ebert said it best in his review of\u00a0Crazy Heart\u00a0about lead actor Jeff Bridges’ performance when he said, “The notion of a broke-down, boozy country singer is an archetype in pop culture. We’ve seen this story before. The difference is, Bad Blake makes us believe it happened to\u00a0him.” It’s such\u00a0a simple statement, but so true. … Continue reading Crazy Heart (2009)<\/span>
\nCharacter Development 8\/10
\nCharacter Chemistry 6.5\/10
\nActing 9.5\/10
\nScreenplay 7\/10
\nDirecting 7\/10
\nCinematography 10\/10
\nSound 10\/10
\nHook and Reel 9.5\/10
\nUniversal Relevance 8\/10
\n83.5%<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"