Great Music, One Great Performance, Lame Script, Horrible Sound Editing

Rating: 6/10 (23 March 2011)

Jeff Bridges is great. The music is great. The story, such as it is, is clichéd. A lot of the performances--like Maggie G's-- are grating. And a lot of the dialog is just lame ("Its like livin' with a rattlesnake"). For me, the music and Jeff Bridges' Oscar-winning performance almost make up for it, except for one other element that drove me nuts--the sound editing is way over the top. Every damn sound effect is pushed to the top of the mix. I mean every snort, breath going in or out of someone's nose, splash of liquor in a bottle, cigarette being lit, groan, bedspring, lip smack, chewing sound, footstep, screen door clatter, door shutting--EVERYTHING that should be basically INCIDENTAL is so freakin' LOUD that it took me out of the story.
An odd complaint, probably. But it really is what bugged me most.