Buoyed by Bridges

Rating: Null/10 (22 March 2010)

As unremarkable and undistinguished and completely generic and predictable as a 90's made-for-TV court drama, this is only saved by Jeff Bridges's performance. He's not mad good, that is to say he's not good in the baroque all-consuming way Daniel Day-Lewis is good, but he's good, he's got the same magnetic charisma that made superstars out of Robert Mitchum and Montgomery Clift even when they were simply staring at the camera. He's a pleasure to watch as the grizzly washed-up mumbling country singer who's seen better days and a liver in better condition. T
he New Mexican open landscapes could've added something special to the mix; but they don't because they're relegated to dimestore postcard backgrounds and god knows how much I love that type of landscape.
Comparisons to the very similar Tender Mercies make clear why one is a forgotten classic and why the other will be simply forgotten (apart from those instances when it's remembered as "the movie that gave Jeff Bridges the Oscar").
Both movies gravitate around terrific performances (Robert Duval's the superior one of the two), but one cleanses with clarity the other merely decorates. Tender Mercies is made steadfast by the central performance, Crazy Heart merely buoys on it.