See if for the music and Bridges' performance

Rating: Null/10 (22 November 2011)

Correctly, a lot of reviewers make the comparison of Jeff Bridges broken down country singer to Mickey Rourke's broken down titular wrestler. A comparative film of a different sort is "Gran Torino" where Clint Eastwood's broken down auto worker also looks for late life meaning and redemption in a world that has long left him behind. The more important comparison between the films is that they both offer a chance to see two masters of their craft getting to apply it to, in many ways unpleasant and unattractive, deeply flawed characters. In many ways Walt Kowalski's racist rants and atheism are more uncomfortable to watch than Bad Blake's losing track of his girlfriend's son while drinking in a bar although both actors get the audience to care about these characters anyway. Bridges makes more of less though in a movie turns on a seemingly unlikely romance – what is it about the overweight, alcoholic nomad that is worth bridging the 30 year age gap? Maybe it's the music. The soundtrack, the quality of the song-writing, Bridges' performance, the difficult to believe use of Irishman Colin Farrell as an American country/western star all impress. Yes, the mixed ending will not thrill American audiences but it is true to the story. In short, Bridges' performance and the songwriting make this required viewing.