Overall, a very good performance by Bridges, but the film could have

Rating: 6/10 (15 February 2010)

The beautiful panoramas of the Great Southwest were worth watching. The desert in bloom was a sight to behold. Those parts of the film were completely enjoyable. The portrayal of the character Otis "Bad" Blake was credible, and Jeff Bridges did a very good job. The incessant use of cigarettes became dull, and, by the time this long movie was over, sickening. The casting was doubtful as Gyllenhaal seemed very young next to Bridges, who is 57 years old. Her performance was good. There were too many closeups, which always means a shallow story, and much of the time we listened to music when we wanted to know more about the characters. The gratuitous sex scene was completely unnecessary, and somewhat incredible given the age and condition of the character. The contrived gestures of holding her breast, and slipping his hand into her underpants were so forced that they were uninteresting. The many talents of Robert Duvall were wasted on a trivial role, but the fishing scene was a gem. The scene in the Santa Fe bar where the character Bad Blake dances with a spectator was the best music scene in the film. Overall, a very good performance by Bridges, but the film could have been better.