an average movie that benefits from an Oscar-caliber turn by Bridges

Rating: 6/10 (21 March 2010)

Scott Cooper's debut feature film Crazy Heart tells a redemption story about aging booze-addicted country musician Bad Blake (Jeff Bridges) who suddenly falls in love with a much younger woman. Regrettably, the movie isn't even remotely on par with Jeff Bridges' authentic portrayal which truly deserves Oscar-consideration. Aside from it, only the country songs composed by T-Bone Burnett are up to scratch. I admit it although I'm not really keen on country music. Other than that, Crazy Heart suffers from utterly conventional script most of all. One can usually predict the major plot points before they take place, which seldom makes for gripping cinema. Scott Cooper, who also wrote the script, doesn't provide enough material to make a truly demanding film resembling last year's The Wrestler. Instead, Crazy Heart happens to be too light for its own good. We nearly don't care though because Bridges' performance is so captivating and truthful. Other actors fail to a degree because the writing is so unremarkable. Maggie Gyllenhaal just doesn't have enough material to play a juicy dramatic role and her relationship with Bridges seems to be rushed. Although the subplot with Colin Farrell starring as a country star influenced by Bad is quite interesting, the movie just doesn't let it develop properly. Overall, Crazy Heart is an average movie that benefits from an Oscar-caliber turn by Bridges so much that it gets a mild recommendation from me. 6/10 (B-)