Bad Blake (Bridges) is a 57-year-old country-western star whose best performing days are behind him. Travelling in a beat-up truck from small town bowling lanes to bars, Blake is a former celebrity with an aging fan base. His hard-drinking and lecherous lifestyle has finally caught up with him. Unexpectedly, a small-town reporter and single mother, Jean (Maggie Gyllenhaal; "The Dark Knight"), takes a special interest in this apparently washed-up talent. Can Blake turn his life around for a younger woman he legitimately wants to prove himself to? The film also co-stars Colin Farrell ("In Bruges") as Blake's more famous protégé and Robert Duvall ("The Road") as an old friend from way back.
This storyline might feel somewhat familiar as Hollywood has told the hard livin' country star tale before, while more recently exploring the story of another aging performer in 2008's "The Wrestler." Despite the familiar formula, a person repeating past sins strikes a universal cord. Bridges manages to embed an overall charisma and likeability into a character who constantly let's down those who care for him. The actor wears the fatigue and disillusionment of a hard life on his sleeve for the audience to see. The viewer will feel a mixture of pity and revulsion at Blake's antics, yet his overall willingness to try and change fills you with hope. And the legend still has talent.
The supporting characters are a ragtag bunch of weary souls recovering themselves from lives filled with disappointment. Tommy Sweet, Blake's former band mate, is the exception because he has created a successful career out from under his teacher's shadow. Farrell's nice singing voice is a pleasant surprise in the picture. Sweet is filled with appropriate contrition for leaving his teacher in the dust for a successful solo career, however Farrell doesn't have the hardened edge one would expect from a professional "in the business." Whether purposeful or unintentional, Sweet seems out of place in the atmosphere created by the picture.
Jean is star-struck by Blake, blinding herself into getting into another ill-considered relationship. Gyllenhaal exudes a weariness and caution beyond her years, perhaps channeling some of Marisa Tomei's performance in "The Wrestler." She is a perfect foil for Bridges, her role changing in the course of the film based on her changing relationship with Blake.
Cooper creates a heartbreaking tale in "Crazy Heart," with a tonally appropriate and "catchy" soundtrack and a bevy of honest performances. Allowing the story to unfold instead of forcing the plot, Cooper correctly manages the action on-screen instead of provoking it. Still, it is Bridges, as the film's imperfect protagonist, which permits the movie to exceed the boundaries of its well-travelled genre, creating something worth recognizing in the process.
Rated R for language and brief sexuality.
