Erin’s Review of Crazy Heart

Right after watching this film, if you had asked me, I think I would’ve said that I didn’t know if I liked it very much. I loved the soundtrack, but something about the plot rubbed me the wrong way. I watched with a friend, and we discussed the movie at length, and I came up with this conclusion: I did not believe in the relationship between Bad and Jean.

That being said, I did find the rest of the movie enjoyable. I loved that right off the bat, they established the character of Bad Blake as not only a washed-up star, but also one of those who cares more about his guitar and his truck than he does about his women (exhibit A: Bad leaves a sleeping groupie in bed at a hotel after a night of “passion,” but does his guitar the courtesy of shining it up. Exhibit B: After his accident, all he cares about is where the guitars are). This is why I was so surprised by the change in his ways when he met Jean. He seemed to be instantly bonded to her, and cared enough to spend the night, wake up with her, and offer to make her (and her son) biscuits. I was also surprised by how quickly she took to him. I keep using the word “surprised” because I failed to see that magical sort of moment where the relationship turns from physical to emotional. Out of nowhere, they were saying “I love you” and calling to say they missed each other. How did he so quickly turn from looking for sleazy girls after gigs to a devoted man in love?

From the first frame, I found myself getting sucked into caring about Bad. I was stressed out about his bad habits- past, present, and potential future. I decided that maybe he took to Jean and her son so quickly because he was trying to make amends for his mistakes in the past. I was concerned about his drinking, especially after the accident, and wondered, if he really cared about these people, why he wouldn’t make the necessary changes to his life. I ultimately found it quite sad that once he realized that alcohol was the root of all of his troubles and got sober, he seemed to also think that quitting would fix all the troubles. I felt so sorry for him throughout most of the film. Except when he lost the child because he was too drunk to take care of him. At that point, I was just angry.

I enjoyed the ending. The fact that Jean was engaged when they re-met was interesting to me. At first I was upset that she had moved on so quickly; sixteen months isn’t very long to get over Bad, meet a new man, fall in love and get engaged. When I looked closer, however, I saw that it might be a testament to who she was—always looking for a strong man, falling quickly in love, and holding on tight to anything good. I think he was better off without her in the end, but it was nice that he got to see her and let her know how deeply she had affected him.

Adam's Thoughts on Crazy Heart

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.

Dspang's Thoughts on Crazy Heart.

Well..............This wasn't a bad movie but, I just wasn't feeling it. First off with the good. This is an actor movie and the actors were in full bloom. Jeff Bridges was f^)&(%$ awesome as Bad Blake. I bought it all the way. Why isn't Mister Bridges doing more? I was convinced that he was Bad Blake. From the moment he stepped out of "Bessy" and proclaimed his joy to be at the bowling alley, to the times he was falling down drunk. He played up the personality very well. Well played Mister Bridges. Next we have Miss Gyllenhaal. She was positively radiant in her role as Jean. Her shared chemistry with Bad Blake was very genuine. Both of them seem to be weighed down significantly by their emotional demons. I also like that fact that not matter how she looks she looks like a "real" person as opposed to a person dipped in plastic and botox. Also, we have Robert Duvall as his bartender buddy Wayne. The friendship between these two was pretty good and totally unforced. The scene that the two share on the fishing boat was priceless in my opinion. I wanted that scene to last longer. I kind of wish Colin Farell had a little bit more to work with here. The few scenes he had were good and they did a great job of showing the contrast between his style of country versus Blake's but I wanted to know what Blake's beef was with him. It seemed like he was an afterthought.

Now with the not so good. This wasn't a horrible movie in my eyes. It seemed a little derivative of a another movie I've seen. Specifically "Walk the Line." Now I know that one was about Johnny Cash, but the problem I have is that the whole "alcoholic(or drug addicted) worn down life, meet amazing woman, redemption or not" angle seems a little played out. "Leaving Los Vegas" had a similar arc except Nick Cage spiralled. So did Tender Mercies with Robert Duvall himself. So this isn't the first time this has been done.

My other quibble with this movie is the ending. We had a perfect ending with Bad Blake sitting on his porch singing one of his songs that mirror his life and trials. Fade to black. Then they have to flash forward. That didn't seem too necessary at all. It would have been perfect had they just ended with him on his porch. He had a sense of peace and closure on his face that showed we didn't really need to know what happened after.

In conclusion, I thought it was a good movie in the context of the type of movie that it is. Just not great or anything different from the type of movies that preceded it. I'm also glad that Bridges got an award for his role because he owned it. The little Lebowski reference in the beginning was nice too. Intentional or not.

Brian B's Thoughts on Crazy Heart

It sure was nice to get The Dude back into a bowling alley, even if Bad didn't want it that way. Jeff Bridges fully embodied Bad Blake, a down on his luck and finally feeling his bad decisions former country music star. After a little bit of research I found that Bridges actually performed the songs in the movie, which certainly helped things feel authentic. Surprisingly so did Colin Farrell who I didn't really buy as a performer, though I did as an admirer of Bad.

Outside of Bridges, the film is good but not great. The performances all around were solid and, as mentioned, Bridges really stood out. The pacing was tricky. It took a long time to get where it was heading and then wrapped up pretty quickly. I'm not adverse to a slow movie but I was surprised to see that I was just over an hour into a film that felt about twice that long. This was a bit of an odd feeling for a film that I was enjoying. One of my favorite parts of the film was the last scene, with a better Bad reuniting with Jane long enough to wish each other well and understand that they had their moment and it had passed. All with a beautiful background.

The Jane/Bad relationship, while likable, didn't make a ton of sense. Bad was perhaps a little charming, Jane was perhaps looking for something to excite her, but why? We all know girls like the bad boys, even after being burned by them in the past, but excuse the feminist in me to say that Hollywood has had enough of these weak willed women. Fortunately Jane showed some back bone in the end, but it would be nice to see something new.

It was interesting to see T Bone Burnett in the credits as a producer and certainly helps explain why Bad's life on the road felt so real. Overall, a good movie with a standout performance. Thanks for pushing it up my Netflix queue!

Brian Hammons' thoughts on Crazy Heart

Another good selection -- thank you Hooks. Every year I try to see the bulk of stuff nominated for Academy Awards so this was already on my radar. That being said, I can understand why it, as a film, was not nominated in the Best Motion Picture of the Year category yet Jeff Bridges was nominated (and won) Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role.

I don't mean that in any way as a knock on the film, but as a whole, it doesn't break new ground or forge in any unpredictable ways that'd make it timeless. We've seen better films about struggling alcoholics and artists before, the messiness of blossoming love when young children are involved, etc. The film really felt comfortable in the traditional three act set-up, not challenging conventions, etc. The first act was the introduction of Bad Blake, the second act the burgeoning love interest, and the third and final act the cleaning up of Blake, becoming sober so he could keep together what pieces of his life remained. Familiar shots and devices were used, overheads of his old truck driving down empty desert streets to show the changing of locations, etc.

The film's real power comes from Jeff Bridges' strong performance as Bad Blake. Blake reminded me of my own dad in some ways, a musician, and also someone who's never taken particularly good care of their health. In so far as comparing the strength and quality of Bridges' work, I'd bring up Mickey Rourke and his brilliant performance as Randy in Darren Aronofsky's The Wrestler (2008). Both actors were playing characters that were different enough from their real personas that you realized they had to get deep into the character to bring them to life. Both characters also demanded my attention whenever they were on the screen, living and breathing larger than life forces that commanded our curiosity by just being.

I think the scenes that will resonate with me longest took place during Blake's losing of Jane's son Buddy while he stopped for a drink. It was heart-wrenching, Blake unable to restrain his desire for alcohol, while it was clear he did love the boy and enjoy spending time with him, and how badly the situation turned. Anger that may develop in the viewer towards Blake is likely softened as the movie progresses; I felt hostility towards him and his decisions several times, but his conscious effort to get sober and clean up his life wipes much of that away as you realize he's turned a corner and is now trying the best he can. It was a good watch, wouldn't make my top twenty list for '09, but solid and definitely worth seeing for Jeff Bridges' excellent performance.

Jess' thoughts

They say every great character significantly changes over the course of their story from one extreme to the next for the better and they learn a lesson, if so, Bad Blake could fit into that category. Jeff Bridges' amalgamation of Jeffery "dude" Lebowski and Randy "the Ram" rolled into a down and out country singer struggling to make ends meet financially as well as physically. This movie drew a lot of comparisons to "The Wrestler" for me, two men who once were at the top of their particular art, only to have hung on for the rest of their lives because it was the only thing they were great at, long past their prime. Both men still have much to offer, but the person who knows it the least might be each of them. Both men have estranged children they have since neglected and both seem to be knocking on death's door. Both also find a younger woman, mothers to be precise, that they have found some new life in, reinvigorated their spirits so to speak. Where both films succeed is these aren't men who go out and do something the world remembers, they both fight their own internal battles and plod along at the same thing they've bee doing for as long as they can remember and that is complete honesty in their characters.

The opening scene is played masterfully by Bridges, and his first scene is him stepping out of a dingy old pickup with his pants unbuckled, while he mutters, "fucking bowling alley," in reference to his latest gig. One can't help but think of the sport Bridges will probably long be associated with due to his character "The Dude."

The movie is a slow process of uncovering all the messes Blake has let his life become and they start unraveling after he meets a reporter interviewing him named Jean. Besides being a country music icon, it's hard for me to draw any other discernable quality this young lady would find appealing in Blake, as that's one of the things stumping me as the film rolls on. Not only is she attracted to him and sleeps with him but she opens up her house and her young fatherless son to his affections, only to, in the end, find her original assumptions of Bad being an irresponsible surrogate father true, which makes you wonder why she bothered in the first place. But they do have some great moments together such as their original interview segments and Bad's desperate plea for a 2nd chance.

Overall the film was very enjoyable as Jeff Bridges lived and breathed in Bad Blake's skin and let us into his mind and heart. He's constantly being praised as a terrific songwriter which we get to hear a good number of his tunes but I would have liked a little more emphasis on how such a broken man comes up with that stuff: guess his explanation of "they are my life" will suffice, to the question of where does he come up with his lyrics. A great choice, Hooks.

Film #2: Crazy Heart (2009)

Crazy Heart is a 2009 American musical-drama film, written and directed by Scott Cooper and based on the 1987 novel of the same name by Thomas Cobb. Jeff Bridges plays Bad Blake, a down-and-out country music singer-songwriter who tries to turn his life around after beginning a relationship with a young journalist named Jean, portrayed by Maggie Gyllenhaal. Supporting roles are played by Colin Farrell, Robert Duvall, Beth Grant and child actor Jack Nation.