NOTE: Crazy Heart is released in London's West End on February 19th and will spread to the rest of the UK on March 5th
Effortless. That’s the word to describe Jeff Bridges’ acting, whether it’s playing the US President in The Contender, an alien in Starman or, of course, The Dude in The Big Lebowski, which is perhaps his signature role. There’s something of The Dude in his wonderfully rounded performance as Bad Blake, a washed up country singer in this powerful drama, and it’s not just when he rescues his sunglasses out of a dustbin or drinks in a bowling alley.
Bridges has actually released a country album in the past, and he brings it all to his part as the boozed up, overweight, once-famous singer reduced to playing in bowling alleys and bleak bars. He smokes too much, drinks whisky like coffee and can barely speak when he walks, but somehow manages to keep it together when he’s onstage, even playing to 20 rednecks in the middle of nowhere. Of course, being an American drama, he has to have his chance at redemption, and that comes in the form of Maggie Gyllenhaal’s Jean, a reporter who interviews and then falls for him, despite his record with women – is it four divorces or five?
Blake also gets a chance to make some money thanks to his former protégé, Tommy Sweet (Colin Farrell), who is now a massive ‘new country’ star in the mould of a Garth Brooks. Sweet wants five songs out of Blake, who hasn’t actually written anything in three years. Will he find his muse? Will Jean turn out to be his saviour?
Actually, to the film’s huge credit it does not play out in a predictable fashion, and actually packs quite an emotional punch. Blake may think he’s back on track but a disaster with Jean’s four-year-old son undoes him.
With Farrell and Gyllenhaal reduced to slightly under-written, plot-driven roles, the focus is on Bridges for pretty much every frame of the movie – and he is superb. He manages to be charming and engaging even with his head down the toilet, and he never overplays the drunk scenes. A lesser actor might have gone big, but Bridges gets quieter, barely able to speak through the whiskey, pushing his ageing body through songs before slumping on a grimy motel bed. Perhaps a mother of a four-year-old might resist him in real life, but Bridges manages to invest Blake with enough charm for the slight stretch to work.
A word too for T Bone Burnett, who is responsible for the film’s music and a fine job of it he does too, with Blake wringing gorgeous melodies from his battered guitar as easily as Bridges’ acting.
CLICK HERE to watch the Quicktime version of the UK trailer for Crazy Heart
Overall verdict: A low-fi treat with a stunning central performance from Bridges, who deserves every award going. Long may he run, in the words of Neil Young.
Reviewer: Mike Martin
