The film Crazy Heart is a collection of the blood, sweat, and tears of a old country music star, Bad Blake. Throughout his trials and tribulations he has seen many women, but none strike him as much as Jean, the small-town reporter from Enid, Oklahoma. Blake builds his relationship with her and her son throughout the movie, trying to rebuild the relationship he never had with his real son through the reporter's son, Buddy. Life had taken its toll on Blake. He was down in out doing two-bit tours in rural areas so that he had enough money to keep his alcohol addiction going. In the end, he finds that the love of a family is more addicting than anything that can be served in a glass bottle.
I concur with the Jeff Bridges love in this film. What superb acting. I became so engrossed in his performance that I couldn't take my eyes of the screen. Was this man going to drink himself to death? Was life so bad for him that he just couldn't go on? It's been a while since I've been so into a film that I forgot it was a film. Maggie Gyllenhaal played the small-town reporter who had been through a rough marriage and fell in love with Blake. She, as well, did a great job. It was refreshing to see her in a role in which she played a rural girl.
I found myself on the verge of tears throughout the film simply because I really could see something like this happening... quite often, actually. "Legends" come and go in the music industry. What does a 57-year-old country star turn to when the light at the end of the tunnel seems to be dimmer than ever before? The many vices that claim the lives of people. The relationship Bad formed with Buddy was magical. Mainly through not seeing his son grow up, Bad turned his life around so he wouldn't miss the same opportunity twice.
The title of the movie can stand alone on it's own. This older man who falls in love with a reporter in her early thirties couldn't possibly have a chance. Through his "crazy heart" he fell in love yet again and was able to build a fatherly relationship with a young boy -- something he regretted he didn't do all of his life. Bad lived his life in "bad" fashion, making for an appropriate name. Bad found a friend and son in Buddy, again an appropriately named character. The name "Jean" means "God is gracious." Perhaps there was some grace being shown upon Bad in that he found Jean.
Thanks for the film selection, Hooks. A tear on the verge of my eye was something I hadn't experienced from a film in quite a while. A powerful film about the fallen life of a music legend going from having everything to nothing is certainly something that you can become emotional about.
I did however like the line when he talks to Jean the second time, "I wanna talk about how bad you make this room look. I never knew what a dump it was until you came in here." Talk about charming. I need to try that one myself.
ReplyDeleteHaha, indeed!
ReplyDeletewhat was the scene that brought a near tear to your eye i was wondering?
ReplyDeletedarrel.. that is a damn good line.. one of the film's best.. - i read in a review somewhere a critic saying it was brilliant and how he was surprised he'd never heard it before because it's such a solid line..
ReplyDeleteThat has all of the aspects of a perfect line. Its perfectly executed in that its understated, memorable, and does not reek of that "hey look a clever line." type vibe.
ReplyDeleteJess, the part(s) that moved me emotionally were two in particular: the scene where he's vomiting in the bathroom and then starts to weep, and the scene where he asks Jean if she forgave him. I'm a wuss with that type of stuff.
ReplyDelete