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Amazon.co.uk Review
In a career filled with unforced, naturalistic performances, Jeff Bridges gives one of his finest in Crazy Heart. His oft-married, booze-soaked troubadour Bad Blake has just rolled into Santa Fe when he meets Maggie Gyllenhaal's journalist Jean. "Where do all the songs come from?" she asks during their initial encounter. "Life, unfortunately", he sighs. Against Jean's better judgment, her fling with Blake blooms into a full-fledged relationship. Between gigs, Blake hangs out with the divorcée and her 4-year-old son, with whom he establishes an instant rapport, possibly because the musician is just an overgrown kid himself (and also because he hasn't seen his own boy in years). While Blake plays juke joints, his protégé, Tommy Sweet (Colin Farrell, cast against type to fine effect), plays stadiums, but just when director Scott Cooper's debut seems to be going down the same path as A Star Is Born, Sweet offers his mentor an opportunity that could revive his reputation--at the expense of his still-healthy ego. Between Jean and Tommy, things start looking up for Blake until a critical error puts his stab at redemption in jeopardy. Once Robert Duvall enters the scene as Blake's favorite bartender, it's clear that Cooper has Tender Mercies in his sights, but Crazy Heart, which features music by T-Bone Burnett and rough-hewn singing by its Golden Globe-winning star, plays more like a sincere cover version than a strikingly original composition. Still, like Duvall's in Tender Mercies, Bridges's performance is Oscar-worthy. --Kathleen C. Fennessy
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
56 of 60 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A captivating story of picking up the pieces and getting back in the saddle,
By
This review is from: Crazy Heart [DVD] (DVD)
Jeff Bridges plays 'Bad' Blake, a 57-year old chain-smoking, alocholic, washed-up country music star. He is effusive and rarely cares about anything apart from where his next drink is coming from and bounces from bar to bar playing small-time gigs and the same old songs to make ends meet. When Blake meets Jean Craddock (Maggie Gyllenhaal) a small-town reporter who wants to write a piece on Blake, he re-evaluates his priorites and the road he is choosing to walk.Running out of options, Blake is forced to play support for his former protege, Tommy Sweet (Colin Farell) whom he mentored and taught 'country' to, at the expense of his pride and self-respect. Tommy asks him to write some new material for him and Blake sees a way out of his self-destructive spiral and a way to be with Jean. Will he save himself from the brink? Crazy Heart is probably Bridges' best performance to date (and I love Jeff Bridges), he plays 'Bad' so well, with great comedic effect and his flippant attitude just seems so natural. You can't help but feel sorry for him as he tears himself apart and I genuinely felt for the character. Colin Farrell was a really welcome surprise, I knew he was in the film, but going by past performances I wasn't expecting too much from him. I was pleasantly taken aback as he played Tommy Sweet in a practically note-perfect manner, suiting the character's idioms and really filling out the acrimonious past between Sweet and Blake. Maggie Gyllenhaal's performance is solid and believable as the reporter/single-mother but somehow it doesn't bring any empathy for her character. Despite this, the film really makes you feel for Bad Blake and honestly will him to turn things around. The film is beautifully shot, credit to Scott Cooper here, it features a lot of bars and southern, rustic locations yet doesn't feel bland or homogenous. The score is good as well, I'm not a huge country-western fan, yet found myself whistling one or two of the tunes well after the film; I'm told most of the tracks are written by T-bone Burnett, but sung by Bridges. All in all, this is a touching film about last-chance turn arounds. Critics may argue that it is 'the wrestler' but about a country music star and they wouldn't be far wrong; but Bridges brings a unique level of humanity and vulnerability to the role. On top of all this Robert Duvall has a small part as a brilliant bartender. Highly recommended!!
19 of 22 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Jeff Bridges steals the show.,
By
This review is from: Crazy Heart [DVD] (DVD)
Jeff Bridges' incredible performance is not the only aspect of this movie that deserves praise. Bridges--who will most likely win an Oscar for his performance (sorry, Colin Firth, it was just your bad luck to deliver your best performance in the same year)--inhabits the character of Bad Blake so thoroughly and convincingly that you forget you're watching Jeff Bridges; he truly gives life to this alcoholic but talented country singer who is searching for some joy and redemption at the end of his career. Maggie Gyllenhaal is wonderful in a supporting role as Blake's girlfriend, and Colin Farrell is a genuine surprise as Blake's protégé, Tommy Sweet. (By the way, who the heck knew that Farrell--and Bridges, for that matter--could sing so well?) Bonus: the soundtrack is awesome. Interesting cinema synergy--Robert Duvall (still a working actor at the age of 79), who produced this film and has a small supporting role, won a Best Actor Oscar in 1984 for playing a character similar to Bad Blake in "Tender Mercies."
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Good Film, Bad Sound,
By spider-ham (uk) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Crazy Heart [Blu-ray] (Blu-ray)
I enjoyed the film as a little 'off the wall'. Unusual pacing with no tension or drama except toward the end and yet Jeff Bridges held my attention throughout. Recommended if you want a low budget, well acted, no CGI night.Picture quality on Blu-Ray is geat but the sound was appalling. The music spots are too loud and the dialogue too quiet. i was adjusting the sound throughout the film which did spoil my enjoyment a bit.
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