Crazy Heart (15), 2009

“Born to be Bad”

What a fickle bunch cinema-goers are. Jeff Bridges finally wins an Oscar for Best Actor after 5 Academy Award nominations, and yet the queues outside Greenwich Picture House last Wednesday evening were for Alice in Wonderland, with Johnny Depp. When the “Sold Out” sign finally went up, the crowd, still huge, left for the pub leaving Bridges to play to a half empty auditorium. Well, I hope they enjoyed their drinks.

Bridges turns in an astonishing performance, career -defining by any standards. He simply “is” “Bad Blake” from his nicotine-stained, chain smoking, guitar-plucking, fingertips to his unshaven, sunken eyed, whisky ridden, complexion. He wears his, albeit waning, celebrity status as naturally as his jeans, the stage his own, captivating his audience by a total lack of self awareness. Even the vocals (his own voice) seem to flow effortlessly, his gravelly tones radiating confidence. Bridges was surely born to be Bad.

The movie revolves around the spiralling decline of a 57 year old alcoholic country and western singer, Otis “Bad Blake played by Bridges. Blake, singing and writing career in ruins, travels across America from one sleazy venue to the next staying in increasingly cheap motels. After reaching his nadir with a gig in a small town bowling alley, he agrees to be interviewed by an aspiring reporter, Jean Craddock, played by Maggie Gyllenhaall, a 30 year old divorcee with a 4 year- old son.
Lifestyle and age difference notwithstanding, they begin a relationship, tender and touching with both protagonists doing their best to bridge the age gap. As with all Greek tragedies, the danger signs are there but Bridges, moving from one alcoholic stupor to another, fails to notice them, ultimately losing Craddock’s son, if only temporarily, in a shopping mall.

Their subsequent separation is the turning point for Bad; encouraged and supported by his friend, Wayne Kramer, (played by Robert Duval – cameo roles fast becoming his speciality), he goes into rehabilitation and comes out, rather too quickly, a changed man, inspired to start writing music again for his former protégé, Tommy Sweet (another nice cameo – this time from Colin Farrell). But throughout there is Bridges, ever-present and elevating the film beyond its conventional frame of reference, shining so brightly that even Gyllenhaall pales into insignificance.

Verdict
The film is based on the 1987 novel of the same name by Thomas Cobb and adapted for screen by Director, Scott Cooper who has the intelligence to let Bridges simply get on with it. At 112 minutes the film is 10-15 minutes too long as too often the case nowadays, but while watching Bridges, you don’t seem to notice. 8/10.

Dick Morgan
March 2010