Crazy Heart

Rating: 10/10 (30 June 2010)

With a steady diet of booze and cigarettes, aging country music singer, Bad Blake(Jeff Bridges) is so far down the dumps, a career that has seen better days, he's playing bowling alleys. A relic of another era(with music that is far more authentic than what is considered country nowadays), Bad Blake is having a hard time accepting that his protégé, Tommy(Colin Farrell), is a major star, having supposedly "left him behind". Broke, four failed marriages, a bad persistent cough, and the rigorous travel accompanying his alcoholism and smoking, all have left Blake in need of some serious therapy. He might just find that in a reporter for a Santa Fe newspaper, Jean(Maggie Gyllenthal), who he meets while being interviewed by her. He bonds with her son, Buddy(Jack Nation)while perhaps falling in love for the first time. But, his alcoholism results in almost losing Buddy in a mall while Bad's getting drunk in a bar, which squanders what could've been a special, quality relationship, which forces him to process his situation in life and acknowledge his failures.
What a gift to have Robert DuVall as a bar owner pal of Bad's who offers some moral support and friendship..I was thinking about TENDER MERCIES while watching CRAZY HEART, another simple, honest little movie about a country music singer's rise from the gallows thanks to a woman and her son. DuVall is the kind of actor that brings a smile to the face the moment he appears on screen. Bad helps his Duvall's Wayne out as his bar is suffering economically. Wayne and Bad have been life long buds so it helps that some sort of ear is there to talk to. How cool is it that Jeff Bridges sings the songs in the film himself? You know it'd be easy to label CRAZY HEART an "Oscar bait" picture, but it's really not a loud, bloated "look at me" kind of film. I think this is very similar to the aforementioned TENDER MERCIES in many ways..both Duvall's character and Bad have to hit rock bottom in order to dust off their boots and straighten out their lives for the better. What a nice little movie, heart felt performances by all involved, and the story which is a realistic look at life on the road, it's drawbacks and benefits(I mean, Bad Blake is admired by those who attend his performances). I liked how the character of Tommy Sweet always extends an olive branch to his mentor, even if the success has heaped rewards his direction, we see that he has continued to remain appreciative of the man who taught him everything he knows. Going through hangovers, vomit-fits, a car crash, love loss, and being denied the chance to meet a son who doesn't wish to speak with him(after so many years, the bitterness and repulsion of the son's voice is quite potent and understandable), plus other situations deriving from his excesses is humbling and oftentimes hard to watch, but through Bridges' performance we care about him and hope he can pull himself out of the gutter, in spite of his voluntary decisions to do so.