Exceptional Acting In A Pretty Decent Movie

Rating: 6/10 (21 March 2010)

Sometimes an acting performance is so good, that it makes a film much better than it would have been otherwise. For me, Crazy Heart is one of those films. Jeff Bridges takes this movie, throws it on his back, and then exceptionally marches it through a story that was interesting, but not entirely memorable, and a screenplay that was passable, but certainly not remarkable. And it's not just Bridges who shines here. Maggie Gyllenhaal also turns in an impressive performance that was well deserving of it's Oscar nomination. Even Colin Farrel and Robert Duvall make the most of what they are given here. But even the great acting could not catapult Heart into the realm of movie greatness. And much of that has to do with the fact that there were some flaws that simply cannot be ignored. First, even though Bridges and Gyllenhaal did have good chemistry, something about their characters' relationship just didn't seem genuine. I think much of that had to do with the fact that it developed unrealistically quickly. There were also decisions made by some of the characters that did not seem real. For example, we are led to believe that Gylenhaal's Jean Craddock is very weary when it comes to men and relationships. We are led to believe that her son is the single most important thing in her life, and that she would protect him at all costs. And yet, for some reason, she quickly jumps into a relationship with Blake, a man who is as damaged and self destructive as one can get. Not only that, she also doesn't think twice about leaving her son in the care of Blake on two different occasions. I just didn't buy it. To me, these decisions were based more on plot development, and not on trying to portray behavior that would be exhibited by real people. And in a film where these decisions make up a very large part of what this movie is about, that's a problem. However, even with these problems, I still liked Crazy Heart. I still think it's a pretty decent movie with some exceptional acting. But I can't help to think that, perhaps, it would have been better for the audience if it was the other way around.