Crazy Heart (**½)

Directed by: Scott Cooper

Starring: Jeff Bridges, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Colin Farrell, Robert Duvall

Seen: February 28^th 2010

**½ Out of ****

If you’re looking for a down to earth story about normal people living what is perceived to be normal lives with their fair share of not too unbelievable problems, then Crazy Heart is for you. Jeff Bridges brilliantly plays Bad Blake, a country singer and writer who, at the age of 57, has a few things happen in his life that manages to turn his life in a different direction.

Bad Blake is a great country star nearing the end of his career (some would argue past it already), but he still manages to get the crowds rallied to his music even though he is often times obviously drunk on stage, which here is mostly only a raised dais in a bowling alley or a small bar – anything to make enough money to survive. Bad is also an alcoholic, and he isn’t helped by the fact that fans simply give him alcohol because they worship him and can’t think that he would have a flaw. Curiously enough he doesn’t really exploit this and is pleasantly surprised when a fan gives him a drink or bottle of whiskey, because he can’t necessarily afford it himself.

In one small town Bad plays with a very good pianist who asks him if he’d mind doing an interview for the local newspaper where his niece is the music correspondent, and Blake obliges without much of a struggle. The correspondent turns out to be a very attractive young lady and Bad is infatuated almost immediately. Jean Craddock (Gyllenhaal) also doesn’t find much objection in herself to falling for Blake, and pretty soon the two are very close, Jean’s main request simply that Blake not drink in front of her son, Buddy.

The romance between Bad and Jean is a very (bitter-) sweet romance, and the best moments in the movie are the ones where passion runs the highest between Bad and Jean, whether it be good or bad. The tragic love story has been told before, and the precursors to this one are put on the table from the very beginning, so nothing is really surprising when things do go bad, it is merely disappointing, because despite his faults, you can’t help but to like Bad, because his music is so beautiful and he’s so heartbreakingly honest to just about anyone but himself. I’m not even a fan of country and I enjoyed the music in this movie.

Jeff Bridges deserves every bit of critical acclaim he’s been given for Crazy heart, and the Oscar too, because you don’t see an actor, you see an old and broken country star who holds on for dear life to what little he thinks he has left, and that is what great acting is all about. Maggie Gyllenhaal herself is almost equally good as the attractive small-town girl who sees beforehand the risks but takes them anyway. Colin Farrell is Tommy Sweet, the young country music sensation reluctantly taking the spotlight away from Bad, as Bad was his mentor, and he himself does a great job of bringing a typical country star to life, singing some beautiful tunes and enchanting some delirious crowds. Also in the mix is Robert Duvall as Wayne Kramer, Bad’s oldest friend, and he is a prime example of what anyone in trouble needs, a supporting shoulder and an open ear.

Crazy Heart is not the freshest story you’ve ever seen, but it is a beautiful little movie that gets elevated to a higher level because of Jeff Bridges’ performance as Bad Blake. If only for that and some pretty entertaining music, Crazy Heart is worth your time.