Bridges will break your heart.
Rumour has it that Scott Cooper’s debut film Crazy Heart, based on a Novel by Thomas Cobb struggled to find a distributer and was destined to premier on American Television. As soon as various studio executives saw Bridges performance a bidding war commenced, and now this film has been met with critical success in the USA and a number of nods at the Oscars this year.
Jeff Bridges, who has received an academy award nomination for his performance, is the saviour of this film in more ways than one. Completely embodying his character, the washed out, alcoholic, overweight country singer ‘Bad Blake’, Bridges is the reason for this films existence. The story is nothing new and compares rather unfavourable to The Wrestler, the acclaimed film which heralded Mickey Rourke’s come back last year. The pacing is gentle, the direction is understated, and the plot is simple. Taken as a whole however, this is one of my favourite films of the year, simply as the powerful study of a talented, ageing man who gets a second shot at life.
The film begins with Bad Blake playing at a bowling alley in southern USA. He is clearly an alcoholic, reliant on whiskey and cigarettes to get him through the day. While he has a small yet loyal fan base and some remaining talent on stage, he is clinging on to his former, more successful days. His redemption comes when being interviewed by single mother Jean Craddock. Instead of seeing her as yet another woman to bed, he connects to her on a deeper level. He becomes involved in her life, but his dependence on alcohol risks sabotaging their relationship.
I have been careful here not to ruin any more, as while the plot really isn’t the most essential part of the movie there is great pleasure to be taken in discovering Blake’s background. Blake is part ‘the dude’ from ‘The Big Lebowsky’ and part Ben Sanderson, the alcoholic played by Nicholas Cage in ‘Leaving Las Vegas’. He is charming, laid back and talented but underneath all this he is a fragile mess. Blake is such a fascinating character to watch that the simple plot only adds to films emotional impact. There are no real standout scenes that showcase Bridges fantastic performance, it is naturalistic and heartfelt. In fact, there is only one real crisis in the movie, which again I will not ruin, but it is something that in many other louder brasher films would be overplayed, but in this it is just quietly terrifying.
His alcohol dependence is initially quite humorous and fitting with his musician life style, but steadily it becomes repulsive and the detrimental impact it has had on his life becomes clear. He begins to realise that he has no one to connect with, and struggles to hold onto anything in life other than a bottle of whiskey. As emphatic as the film is towards him, it doesn’t hide the realities of substance abuse. What is does do is skim over his time in a rehabilitation clinic. Blake steps into rehab, and in the passing of one minute in our time, one month in film time he is sober. It’s a shame that director and writer Scott Cooper wasn’t happy breaking the films gentle tone and pacing to deal with his rehab. For such a convincing performance, his recover from alcoholism appeared far too easy.
Supporting Bridges is Maggie Gyllenhaal; her performance as Jean, Blake’s love interest, earns her a well deserved nomination at the Oscars. Despite their age difference, Jean and Blake make a very convincing couple, the films gentle pacing allows them time to converse and develop this into a relationship; a nice change from the current trend of showing a scene of intimacy followed by the token sex scene. Colin Farrell also makes a memorable cameo playing Tommy Sweet, a younger more successful version of Blake.
What there are in the way of set pieces come in the way of musical performances, and much of your enjoyment of this film may depend on your opinions on country and western music. I am a fan and this film has some cracking songs. It turns out not only can Bridges act, he can also sing rather well. Accompanying the music are spectacularly filmed shots of Southern America. The desert casts a constant warm glow over the film and wide panoramic views are a constant reminder of the freedom and loneliness life on the road offers.
Verdict
Crazy Heart is Bridges film, and after a career of memorable performances this should be the film to get him that much deserved Oscar. It elevates an average film into a great one and despite having seen it all before, you’ll happily watch it all again and again.
**** (4 Stars)
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