Great music allows a collection of strings twanging, drums beating and bells shaking to be a medium through which the listener can bond with the performer. ""Crazy Heart"" attempts to give the complete picture of where soulful, personal music originates from—in this case, the hard-lived life of a country legend.
Otis ""Bad"" Blake (Jeff Bridges) is a country legend on his last legs. At 58 years old, he spends his days playing old favorites to middle-aged groupies for his favorite whiskey and an occasional lay.
Director Scott Cooper seems keenly aware that Bridges has more than a few iconic roles attached to his screen presence, especially as an aging, out-of-it drunk. Whereas ""The Dude,"" Bridges' legendary role from ""The Big Lebowski,"" would tell an uncooperative bartender to chill out in his awkward hippie parlance, Bad defiantly finishes his drink, throws down the cash and puts out his cigarette in the glass. The small touches of character in his body language are what make Bridges' performance Oscar-worthy, defining Bad in every small act.
Lying in bed, Bad pulls three cigs from the pack in a drunken fumble. He lights one with the butt of the last in an endless chain. Every little nuance reveals part of a larger picture: a man who has lived hard and finds himself in a routine that has not aged well, yet remains the only one he knows.
This contrasts with the soulful ballads that Bad rambles out on stage when he isn't hacking up a lung or puking his guts into a barrel outside a dive bar. Bridges lends authenticity to these scenes by doing all the crooning himself, belting out songs of love, loss and regret with such joyful stage presence that only hints at how well they probably reflect his actual experiences.
Like ""The Wrestler"" last year, ""Crazy Heart"" becomes a story of an aging giant rising from the ashes for a last grab at success—but where the former was all about the sacrifices of returning to the ring, ""Crazy Heart"" is about Bad's attempt at both emotional and professional success.
What could have been another shot at a cheap lay with newbie music reporter Jean Craddock (Maggie Gyllenhaal) grows beyond an interview, beyond even waking up in the same bed the next morning. Soon Bad can't seem to get Jean out of his mind, and he finds himself playing with her young son and calling her from the roadside on his way to the next performance.
Gyllenhaal delivers a heartfelt if over-the-top performance as a single-mother afraid to give in to her impulse to get involved with the wrong man for her. Their romance never seems plausible or workable, but somehow their uneven romance still works for the film, giving Bad a last shot at something meaningful to strive for in his life.
As he makes this attempt to shirk his former turn ‘em and burn ‘em approach to love, his career also gets a sudden jump when he plays to a packed stadium opening for his super-star former protégé, Tommy Sweet. Colin Farrell is superbly cast as the hotshot country star–from the instant we see his ponytail and dumb swagger and we instantly hate him as much as Bad does.
Tommy offers to buy some of his songs to get Bad some cash. Bad reluctantly agrees, and begins writing songs about his developing relationship with Jean. As he attempts to connect with someone emotionally for the first time in years, we hear the result in songs he picks out in the dark on an acoustic guitar. Naturally, the songwriting comes easier for Bad than actually maintaining his relationship with Jean.
""Crazy Heart"" gives us a character-driven glimpse into the painful process of living and the power of putting it into song. For anyone wanting to be well-versed in nominated films of this award season, ""Crazy Heart"" should not be missed.
