Crazy Heart

Crazy Heart is Scott Cooper’s directorial debut, in which Jeff Bridges stars as Otis “Bad” Blake, a former country music star who now, in the twilight years of his career, plays gigs in one-horse towns to a small but loyal following. Cooper’s direction isn’t up to much apart from a few nice vista’s, but he has enough nous to know that this is the Bridges show and pretty much has him in every single scene. Bridges has always been a great actor, but he seems to be getting better with age. No doubt he gave his agent a bonus when this script found its way to him. Bridges is totally believable as Bad, even performing a number of songs himself. He gets the emotional balance right as well, as though he is down on his luck at the twilight of his career (including having a drink problem) he doesn’t play for pity and fully accepts his situation is of his own (stubborn) making. A short scene towards the end of the film where he butts heads with a sound mixer is a particular delight, and tells you all you need to know about Bad. Things take a turn for the better when he meets a local journalist Jean Craddock (Maggie Gyllenhaal) and begins a relationship with her and her young son. A redemption of sorts then begins, but without all the plot strands having a happy ending. However, this only adds to the feeling of realism throughout the story, though the scenes between Bridges and Gyllenhall become melodramatic at times and one duff scene (an alcoholic loses a child he’s meant to be looking after!) is almost a television / film cliché now. On the brighter side, the relationship between Bad and his now more successful protégé (played by Colin Farrell) is much more believable and an uncredited Farrell is excellent, proving once again that he is always at his best in lower budget films. As the sun (literally) sets on Bad and the film, thanks to Bridges and his performance (that raises this to a higher level then would have been the case with a lesser actor), you should be left with a smile on your face.

The OC Film Sting Final Verdict
There isn’t much originality here, but some great performances and some toe tapping tunes lead to a film of high quality. Rating: 8/10