‘Crazy Heart’ has as much heartbreak as a country song
Actor Jeff Bridges has had a long career, full of hits and
misses. But if ever there was a role that seemed tailor-made for
him it has to be that of Bad Blake from the Academy
Award-nominated
”
Crazy Heart.
”
The movie is based on a book by Thomas Cobb with a screenplay
written by Scott Cooper, who also directed the film. Bad Blake
(Bridges) is an aging country singer who has to drink a few fifths
of whiskey to get through the concert sets he does at such low-end
venues as bowling alleys and rundown bars.
‘Crazy Heart’ has as much heartbreak as a country song
Actor Jeff Bridges has had a long career, full of hits and misses. But if ever there was a role that seemed tailor-made for him it has to be that of Bad Blake from the Academy Award-nominated “Crazy Heart.”
The movie is based on a book by Thomas Cobb with a screenplay written by Scott Cooper, who also directed the film. Bad Blake (Bridges) is an aging country singer who has to drink a few fifths of whiskey to get through the concert sets he does at such low-end venues as bowling alleys and rundown bars.
Bad Blake is grizzly, unshaven, with lanky unwashed hair. He is clearly an alcoholic, who leaves the stage in the middle of one performance to go outside, throws up into a trash can and then returns to finish the end of the song.
Bad isn’t just a two-bit performer – he used to be a great musician who helped launch the career of one of the biggest country stars, Tommy Sweet (Colin Farrell.) Except for being short on cash, Bad seems content to spend the rest of his days driving to remote gigs across the Southwest, drinking himself into a stupor and hooking up with women who remember him from his better days.
It’s easy to see why Bad made people swoon in his better days. For every scene that Bad takes the stage, viewers get to hear a little more of his repertoire – and Bridges and Farrell do all their own singing in the movie as well as on the soundtrack. The theme song for his life could be his song “Fallin’ & Flyin’,” in which he sings, “It’s funny how fallin’ feels like flyin’ for a little while.”
Bad Blake has been falling for a long time, long enough that it’s clear it no longer feels like flying for him. But things change for Bad when he grants an interview to a young reporter while in New Mexico for a gig. Jean (Maggie Gyllenhaal) has aspirations of being a music journalist, though she works for a small-town paper. Her uncle, who is hired to play piano for one of Bad’s gigs, arranges the interview and it’s clear she knows her country music when she starts interviewing Bad.
He invites her to the show, where he acquiesces to photos even though he is camera shy for obvious reasons. For reasons that are mostly beyond comprehension, Jean goes to bed with Bad, and her behavior makes it seem as though she expects it to be a one-night stand.
Instead, Bad invites himself over to make biscuits with Jean’s little boy Buddy (Jack Nation.) Buddy’s dad is long gone and Jean is leery of getting involved with the clearly alcoholic Bad. But for some reason she gives in and allows him to visit when he is in town. Buddy takes to him quickly, and Jean sets some ground rules, like no drinking in front of the little boy.
Bad’s career starts to look up as well, when his agent talks him into opening for Tommy Sweet at a concert. Bad has an ax to grind with Tommy since Tommy got famous and left him behind, mostly on songs written by Bad. But it’s a big paycheck so Bad takes it. Tommy asks Bad to write some songs for him and for the first time, Bad seems as though he might consider it.
After getting into a car accident, Bad recuperates at Jean’s place, spending time with her and Buddy. His broken leg gets him off the road for a while and he gets a permanent gig at a bar where he lives. With Jean and Buddy in his life, Bad starts to reflect on the things he’s done wrong in the past. He has a grown son of his own, he hasn’t seen since the boy was four. He has multiple ex wives, and he can’t go a day without drinking a bottle of whiskey.
But it takes more than a new love interest and a few good gigs for Bad’s life to change – it takes nearly losing something that couldn’t be replaced for him to consider what it is that has caused most of the problems in his life.
For all the depressing scenes in the movie, it really is a movie about hope and getting a second chance even when it seems almost too late. Bridges and Gyllenhaal are perfect to watch as a mismatched couple, and Bridges encapsulates Bad Blake in a way he hasn’t with any other character he’s played.
In other news
Movie fans have a chance to visit the Cinequest Film Festival, with movies playing from 11 a.m. to midnight at various venues in downtown San Jose. For more information, visit www.cinequest.org.
Melissa Flores can be reached at [email protected]. She writes a blog at http://melissa-movielines.blogspot.com , where she will have updates about her trip to Cinequest next week.
