Crazy Heart Review

Country Livin’

‘Wild Spirit,’ that maybe a better title for Jeff Bridges most recent movie role in “Crazy Heart”, which he recently won ‘Best actor in a leading role’ at the Oscars. In this film “Bad” Blake- the character Jeff Bridges portrays so perfectly in this music drama- a broken-down, hard living minor legend as a country music singer puts as much into life as he gets, which is pretty much nothing. It’s see so easily seen in Bad’s appearance that he has got a “Fuck you if you don’t like me” or a “what you get is what you see” view of the world, and there isn’t much to see.

His gravelly voice, belly barely contained by his leather vest, the slow but yet sensual way he slings his guitar, the amount of time and effort his backup band has to put forth to vamp him up, and the giant sweat stains visible on his and his unbuttoned, un well kempt. With all the character details of Bad it creates an indelible portrait of a performer worn down bye age, chain smoking and alcohol abuse who has had too many failed marriage too many years on the road and one too many drinks way too many times. But this “hot mess” of a person makes the film all the more interesting.

The story is, ironically, as simple and as direct as a country song. Years of Bad’s self-destructive behavior has led him to a career where his minor legend status only allows him to perform in small, cruddy venues such as bowling alleys, all though he does catch a few breaks here and there. While performing in Santa Fe, Bad meets newspaper journalist Jean Craddock, played by Maggie Gyllenhaal, who takes a fancy to this one-time music legend. They become bedmates, but not soul mates. Gyllenhaal does a great job of portraying single mother, Jean, who is guarded and fearful of hurting her little boy, knowing all too well the type of pain a man like Bad could inflict on her small family if she were to surrender to the love she feels for Bad.

“Behind every strong man stands a stronger woman”. This statement rings true when Bad and Craddock build a relationship and in being with her one sees and discover the real man behind the worn down musician. Bad can’t help but reach for salvation with the help of Jean. Bad pulls himself out of the slums of his career when Bad runs into young country star Tommy Sweet, played surprisingly by Colin Farrell, who was once Bad’s protégé. Sweet wants Bad to write some songs for him, This looks to be both a promising professional and personal future for “Bad” Blake, his long standing self-destructive lifestyle holds him back occasionally, but in the end the spirit of the wild, carefree stallion of a man becomes peaceful and tamed after a long, hard life.

In a nut shell, Crazy Heart is a fairly conventional tale of an addled man seeking and achieving redemption, inspired by a good woman, bullet pointed by a selection of country music numbers which rattle along tunefully enough. It’s entertaining film that rarely surprises but does bring a smile to the face through the sheer charisma of its leading man.