" Where did all those songs come from ?""Life unfortunately."
- Bad Blake
That is a great line from the terrific new film called Crazy Heart starring Jeff Bridges as a down and out country singer named Bad Blake. The film is directed by first time writer & director Scott Cooper. The story centers around Bridges character whose career is all but over - he finds himself playing at a bowling alley in the beginning of the film. When he gets a gig in Santa Fe he agrees to do an interview with a small town reporter named Jean Craddock played by Maggie Gyllenhaal. The two develop an unlikely relationship but Bad Blake is a man with a lot of baggage and all the ailments of a musician who has lived a hard life on the road. Too much drinking, smoking and a general disregard for his overall health.
Bad Blake has an opportunity to open a show for Tommy Sweet who strangely enough is played by Colin Farrell. The casting is odd for sure - you don't think of a wild Irishmen to play a contemporary country star. Somehow though it works and he actually sings quite well. Jeff Bridges also did his own singing to a convincing degree - he is also a musician in real life. The relationship between the two is not developed enough but it's clear Blake taught him and mentored him. Sweet went on to become the big star while Bad Blake ended up driving his own truck 300 miles a night to play for the door at the local shithole.
The union grows between Jean and Bad until an incident causes him to re-evaulate his life. He calls upon his friend Wayne played by Robert Duvall to tell him he wants to get sober. Duvall's character doesn't emerge until halfway through the film - when he entered the scene there was a buzz in the packed theater that I saw this movie in. You could hear people say " Ooh Robert Duvall is in this too ! "
The story in this film is not one you haven't seen or heard before but it's told in a thoughtful and realistic manner. The writer/director clearly is either a musician or consulted with one because there is jargon in the film that only a real player would know. The strength of this picture is in the performances of the actors. Jeff Bridges is spectacular in this role. He is criminally underrated and when he received the Golden Globe recently for this performance he was given a standing ovation. He steals the show here and I predict that long overdue Oscar will finally be his. This is his greatest role ever and I think most would agree he just makes it look easy.
The music was produced by T-Bone Burnett (O Brother Where Art Thou) and the songs were written by him, Ryan Bingham and the late Stephen Bruton. The music to my ears is more Americana than traditional country. The songs are excellent and they serve the film well.
Crazy Heart is a great movie and Jeff Bridges inhabits the role of Bad Blake so well you feel as though you are witnessing the life of a man we all know throughout the history of recorded music. Strongly recommended.
