Jeff Bridges has been nominated for four Academy Awards and come up short, but he’s pulled out all stops in his tour de force, Crazy Heart, securing a fifth nomination. It’s The Wrestler goes country as Bridges takes his belly around New Mexico, swilling whiskey, singing country and bed-hopping.
Bad Blake (Bridges) is a legendary country singer. When he pulls up outside a bowling alley, where he is playing his next gig, you’d expect him to come out in a gown (which Bridges donned so well in The Big Lebowski). But he’s not dressed much better, sporting unbuckled pants and bulging midriff that Madonna would admire.
Blake still has it, but also loses his composure mid-set when he takes a puke-break and ends up fishing his glasses out of the garbage. There are moments of humour in this bitter-sweet tale.
The former big-ticket act is now playing small bars and making love to the bottle and ageing fans. But his life is turned on its head by the lithe earthy beauty of Jean Craddock (Maggie Gyllenhaal). She’s a journalist, which allows her to open up old Blake’s heart, and she then lets him into her pristine life.
Blake is living in the shadow of his alcoholism and protégé, Tommy Sweet (Colin Farrell), who is keen to work with Blake again; he relents with no real pressure. And just when things are looking up, Blake takes one swig too many and rolls his car off the road.
While recuperating he realises it’s time to turn around his lazy life. Here comes redemption through Jean, her effervescent son, Buddy (Jack Nation) and Wayne (Robert Duvall), as his bar-room buddy (and producer of the film).
But it’s a false dawn and about the only unpredictability in this movie. This is an actors’ film and while the direction by first-timer Scott Cooper is assured, it’s a pity he didn’t have a stronger script. But what he draws from his cast is excellence. And Barry Markowitz’s cinematography is beautiful.
The country music sequences are given lots of time, and with country legend T Bone Burnett doing most of the writing, the songs are strong. Lines like “Sometimes falling really feel like flying” and “I’m going where I shouldn’t go and doing what I shouldn’t do” resonate.
It’s definitely a star-vehicle film, and that star is Jeff Bridges, and what an actor he is. He put on 25kg for the role, and actually plays his guitar and sings. It may not be his finest role, but it is so underplayed you wonder if he’s in cruise control. If he is rewarded for this part, Gyllenhaal should get two for pulling off this role; she is entrancing as his younger lover, when she shouldn’t be. Farrell is upstaged by his ponytail and cruises through his cameos, while Duvall is ever dependable.
It’s an all-star cast, but this is Jeff’s movie. He’s helped produce it and he wants that award. In a lean year for Hollywood, he should snag it.
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