A life on the road circuit of the lone musician

Rating: 6/10 (2 May 2018)

Those who feverishly follow live music performances may relate more closely to this film than most. But I doubt that even country music fans would get much out of if by way of musical enjoyment. Jeff Bridges does play and sing, as do Colin Farrell and some others, but most of the music is in short segments. And those, often with interruptions or breaks of some sort.
Mostly this is a movie about a musician years past his prime, who makes his living playing to the middle-aged folks who liked his music in the past. He does this in restaurants, bowling alleys, and bars. Part of his being beyond his prime is his lifestyle. Bridges plays Bad Blake, an alcoholic who writes and sings "authentic" country western tunes. But, he hasn't done anything new in years. Now he goes from town to town across the Western U.S., playing for a living. He stays in sleazy or rundown motels. The rest of his lifestyle includes bedding down whatever camp follower presents herself for the night.
A romance enters his life in a much younger woman who has a four-year-old son. It's as though this one particular acquaintance on the road clicks where none before have. That's a little hard to believe. But the dysfunction of Blake's person and lifestyle finally wake up Jean (played by Maggie Gyllenhaal), who calls it quits. This apparently has been different enough from Blake's usual encounters that it leads him to despair and he finally asks for help to battle his alcoholism. While not the way Blake wants it, the film has a sort of hopeful and appropriate ending.
The film is based on a 1987 novel of the same title, by Thomas Cobb. That story was inspired by honky-tonk country-Western musician Hank Thompson (1925-2007).
Bridges won the Academy Award for best actor for his role. This isn't the type of film that offers musical entertainment, as do most musicals. It's not fun picture to watch, but some viewers may appreciate it for the drama and Blake's rehab.