He Said: Crazy Heart
By Jamie D. Ruccio
February 4, 2010
BoxOfficeProphets.com

It looks like Guitar Hero, but I don't see the videogame console. How strange.

All the truly great music is either about love or tragedy. Entire musical careers have been made by these two topics. Good rock 'n' roll or Country/Western songs, to say nothing of the blues, are about one of these very two things. And how often are artists harshly judged when they stop writing about their anguish and either fake it (and we all know when they do) or commit the sin of finding happiness? Gone is their ability to express for the rest of us the universal pains that burden us because of our self awareness (oh, to be a dumb, happy animal). But they serve a purpose in that their expression allows us to realize that we all feel similar things and somehow that is cathartic, to know that these troubles are not unique. The expression of these emotions allows us to admit that and perhaps move away from them. We begin to understand that if these things are collectively felt, that they are also routinely challenged and conquered.

If all this is true, Jeff Bridges' character, the self flagellantly named Bad Blake, is an utter failure as an artist and human being in the beginning of Crazy Heart. He is a once successful Country/Western singer whose personal flaws deny him all the things we all desire - success, fulfillment and ultimately happiness. Everywhere he turns he sees ruin; multiple failed marriages, an estranged child, a destroyed career, a raging alcohol problem and worst of all...the loss of the will to change any of it. He roams the country with his guitar in an old pick-up truck traveling from one small, desolate venue to the next. He plays in front of a few dozen die hard fans, smoking incessantly, comparison shopping for the cheapest whiskey and sleeping with his middle aged fans in joyless encounters. All the while, his failure as an artist is complete because he's not even able to turn all of this tragedy into music. he has written nothing and suffers from intense writers' block. Bad Blake is the saddest of all personalities in that he is simply waiting for it all to be over.

However, he meanders into the life of Jean Craddock (Maggie Gyllenhaal), a small-time reporter and single, divorced mother of a little boy. She's much the junior to him and who has her own dose of anguish. But due to her youth and a bravely held spark of optimism she reminds him that happy things do exist in life. But even her contrary presence does not initiate his expected resurrection - quite the opposite. So deeply damaged is Bad that instead of being transformed by her, he continues on with his self destruction while she watches and is more and more affected by it. The audience watches as the damage he creates becomes ever more pervasive until it climaxes to a very predictable but frightening conclusion.

All of these is done with a very familiar story. In fact, Crazy Heart may have an exceedingly common plot but it is saved by its own deftly constructed characters. Things that advance the story are simple and foreshadowed, obviously; however, the script has a realistic quality. It lacks typical, Hollywood pyrotechnics. It has been reviewed by some as aimless but it has a genuine essence to it. Life sometimes isn't a series of dramatic moments with grand flourishes of artistic dialogue. Sometimes it is a slow moving series of quiet, horrific events experienced by a small number of helpless people. The inevitable conclusion is seen by these people and yet nothing can be done to alter the destination. It is one of the things that makes Crazy Heart and its story-craft successful and satisfying. Undeniably, the performances infuse the material so tremendously with exceptional - and in Bridges' case, career defining - performances that it elevates it into now award winning caliber.

Crazy Heart opens simply, in a bowling alley. Those familiar with Jeff Bridges' career understand either the slyly intended joke (minus the White Russians) or are amazed at the irony. When Bridges' character mutters, "a fkin' bowling alley?" the joke is complete. What is not obvious right away is the mastery with which the audience will be treated at the end. The performance, aided by the subtle script, is adept and quiet. I don't know if Jeff Bridges was able to identify with the tortured nature of his character but the audience absolutely recognizes it as authentic and true. The close-up of his face after he predictably bottoms out is a silent testimony to Bridges' acting ability as he wordlessly manages to cycle through the range of emotions he is feeling before surrendering his consciousness to a drunken stupor.

Maggie Gyllenhaal's character is winsome and yet partially sad. She is weary of the older, damaged man, for herself and for the sake of her son, and yet attracted to his kindness and goodhearted charm. The cheerful aspect of his nature emerges and is different than the cynical acceptor of soulless sexual encounters when he is with Jean. The interaction between her and Bridges, especially in their first scenes, which are a series of interviews turned conversations, is kind of higher education for actors. It again feels like a natural encounter between two cautious, damaged individuals who playfully like one another.

Colin Farrell's performance as Tommy Sweet is also exceptional. Only alluded to in the first half of the movie and then seen sparingly throughout, for the rest, the audience anticipates an antagonist to Bad. A less skillfully written character would have created just that. But instead, Farrell's Tommy, who has done things to Bad Blake, has plausible justifications and reasons. Again, the script could have navigated towards the more obvious characterization but instead presents a much grayer landscape. No one is really at fault and if they are, the reasons for their decisions are understandable. There is regret in Tommy and he attempts to help Bad professionally by using his success and new professional clout (in part obtained because of his previous work with Bad) to assist him. He recognizes his mistakes and debt to his mentor without really apologizing for the success.

Jack Nation, the child actor who plays Jean's son Buddy, is impossibly adorable. His back and forth with Jeff Bridges is utterly endearing. he more than holds his own against Bridges' broad, goofy grin, child bright eyes, and rekindled effervescence.

Fox Searchlight deserves a lot of credit for taking a chance on Crazy Heart. It's now the second time in two years that they've managed to strike lightening in a bottle after last year's indie smash, Slumdog Millionaire. They are poised again to reap wild success for believing in daring choices. Scott Cooper, the first time director and second time writer, deserves tremendous credit. While the travails of the characters show up as well-worn events in film, he weaves subtle, realistic characters who then elevate the entire film into something uniquely special.

Crazy Heart is an achievement in film making. The story, while not unique, allows the skilled cast to perform in a way which is truthful to the more despondent realms of the human experience. How we then respond to the challenge of this sometimes mournful existence is what makes Crazy Heart ironically an enjoyable experience.

...Oh and Jeff...if you're reading this...do "the sequel".