Good movie

Rating: 7/10 (13 May 2010)

"Crazy Heart" is a good movie, but it's not as good as its most obvious companion piece: "The Wrestler." I hate to make the comparison just because the films explores similar themes, but the fact that they were released a year apart and cover much of the same ground is hard to ignore.
Jeff Bridges is a tremendous actor and deserved his awards for this film, but the screenplay itself is fairly predictable and the direction isn't above par. Someone else wrote that the direction seemed similar to a made-for-television film, and I have to agree. That being said, the movie is visually at its best during the sequences that take place in smokey country bars.
My biggest complaint with the film is its ending - it plays it just a bit too safe. I'm not saying alcoholism can't be overcome by someone if they have enough willpower...but I just found the resolution to be a little too convenient and rushed.
Bridges keeps this movie afloat, as well as its impressive country music soundtrack. (Also, Colin Farrell: get back to making movies like this!) It's worth seeing but is very much the definition of a "performance film" in my opinion.