Story is Old Hat, But Jeff Bridges Shines

Rating: 6/10 (19 February 2010)

Back in 1983, Robert Duvall played an alcoholic country singer whose life was changed by a loving woman in "Tender Mercies". He won an Oscar for Best Actor for that performance. Tess Harper who played his love interest got nominated for Best Supporting Actress. Now, 16 years later, Jeff Bridges is poised to win the same Oscar for playing a similar character in a basically similar story. And Maggie Gyllenhaal who plays the love interest also earns a Best Supporting Actress nod.
While watching this film, everything about it felt old and predictable. You simply know you had seen it all before. (In fact, just last year, Mickey Rourke just did the same washed-up star turn but in a more exciting arena in "The Wrestler". Coincidentally, Marisa Tomei who played his love interest also got nominated for Best Supporting Actress.) The long running time of two hours with repetitive sequences did not help at all. The storytelling was slow and tedious. I am not really a fan of country music, but the good catchy songs in this movie kept the movie afloat.
The real reason to watch "Crazy Heart" though is to see Jeff Bridges live his role of "Bad" Blake. It seemed so real. I also admire his country singing voice -- very energetic, heartfelt and on-tune, even when he was singing drunk. Jeff Bridges had been Oscar nominated four times before: "The Last Picture Show" (supporting, 1971), "Thunderbolt and Lightfoot" (supporting, 1974), "Starman" (1984), and "The Contender" (2000). While his competition this year is also tight, as Morgan Freeman ("Invictus") and Jeremy Renner ("The Hurt Locker") also successfully inhabited their respective roles, all signs point that the Oscar for Best Actor is Jeff Bridges' to lose.
The standout in the supporting cast for me is not really Maggie Gyllenhaal, who did not really do anything different or innovative. But Colin Farrell is a revelation in his portrayal of Bad Blake's protégé turned current star Tommy Sweet. His thick Irish accent all but disappeared in his effective Southern drawl. His country singing style is also very good. It is also notable that Robert Duvall also appears here as Bad Blake's loyal fan and friend.