Bad Blake, the washed-up country singer, is played by Jeff Bridges in a performance that at this point seems destined to get him a long-deserved Oscar. With his greasy hair, ratty clothes, and seen-it-all body language, Bridges really makes you believe that he is this character. At the beginning of them film Blake is at a career low and playing at a bowling alley of all places. He's living on the laurels of his past greatness and can't write songs anymore.
Then someone changes his life in ways we don't expect. She is Jean (Maggie Gyllenhaal), a writer who comes to interview him one night. She gets him to open-up and be honest about things he likely hasn't been in a long time. At this point you might expect that she magically changes his life overnight and they live happily ever-after. You'd be wrong. It takes a lot of twists and turns and Blake realizing he needs to get sober before things finally turn around. Even then Gyllenhaal's character doesn't "stand by her man." Her character is refreshingly honest about her concerns for Blake and the concerns she has about the affect of Blake's behavior on her son Buddy. There is also a point in the movie where Blake tries to connect with his son he hasn't spoken to in twenty years. Again, this does not turn out the way we expect.
The other interesting part of this movie is the relationship between Blake and Tommy Sweet (Colin Farrell). Blake was Sweet's mentor and taught him practically everything he knows about music. Now sweet is a star, Blake is fading, and Blake is naturally resentful. What makes this fascinating is that Sweet never forgets what Blake taught him and still values his mentor right up until the end of the movie. Bridges and Farrell really hit the right notes (no pun intended) which are tricky in this part of the movie.
What makes "Crazy Heart" all the more remarkable is that it was done by a first-time director: Scott Cooper. This certainly doesn't feel like a rookie debut by any stretch of the imagination. To think this movie almost never got a theatrical release (at one point it almost went right to cable). Thankfully Fox Searchlight picked it up, screened it for critics who gave it a good reception, and now Jeff Bridges is poised to be rewarded for not just this performance but a great body of work. Oh, and even if you don't like country music, it has some pretty good songs. At this point it goes without saying but: see this movie!
