Review: CRAZY HEART

If you were to dig up and dust off your old Encyclopedia Britannica and locate the phrase “washed up” its possible you’ll find Bad Blake’s picture listed. The only hitch is that Bad Blake doesn’t exist. At least, he doesn’t exist as his own person but exists as a symbol for so many artists who have endured a similar self-induced sacrifice on their own lives in the pursuit of their craft. The troubling dilemma becomes deciding between the art and the people you love.

Actor turned writer-director Scott Cooper makes his feature film debut with CRAZY HEART, based on the novel by Thomas Cobb. This is the story of Bad Blake, a washed up country-western singer and songwriter who travels the southwest in his beat-down 1978 Suburban he calls Bessie, performing tiny gigs in hole-in-the-wall dives and bowling alleys. Blake hates that his career has ended up here, but he does it despite his frustration in an attempt to make ends meet.

Jeff Bridges is outstanding as the run-down, alcoholic Blake, fighting the battle of the booze while still somehow maintaining his knack for song. The opening scene sums up the character with humor and blunt bravado, as Blake steps out of his Bessie and reluctantly prepares to perform a gig in the Spare Room. Despite his inner turmoil, Blake always humbles himself before his adoring fans, those old enough to know who he is, and generally takes his frustration out on his tough-nosed but understanding manager who books his gigs.

The sprawling vistas of the southwest featured throughout CRAZY HEART are more than just pretty to look at, serving as visual reminders of the loneliness that Blake endures on the road and without a soul in the world to love and be loved by. That all begins to change when Blake meets a small town reporter named Jean (Maggie Gyllenhaal) who wants to interview the country music legend. Blake and Jean sort of tumble into a mutual romance, despite their difference in years, but their common thread is the difficult lives they have led.

Gyllenhaal is a breath of fresh air, not so much for a drastic change in approach to her craft, but because she fits the role like your favorite pair of jeans, no pun intended… well, maybe a little. Jean is an attractive young woman whose had her share of heartbreak, but this has made her wise in her limited years. Gyllenhaal’s sad, puppy dog eyes demand empathy as she gives Blake a chance despite her instincts to the contrary. The true turning point however is Jean’s 4-year old son Buddy as Blake embraces the boy as his chance at redemption for a painfully unspoken chapter of his past.

Rounding out the cast of CRAZY HEART is Robert Duvall as Blake’s friend Wayne who owns a bar in Blake’s hometown of Houston. Duvall has a limited role, but his scenes are splendid, especially his fishing trip with Blake. Colin Farrell is the unlikely face as Tommy Sweet, the protégé of and sore spot in Blake’s bruised ego. Initially, seeing Farrell walk on screen as a country-western pop star feels out of place, but he holds his own and does the role justice.

One of the fascinating elements is that Jeff Bridges did his own singing and, surprisingly, it turns out The Dude can actually carry a lovely tune. CRAZY HEART is a film worth experiencing for the music. Watching Bridges breath life into the shattered mirror of the man Blake once was and perform his songs is a revelation of how truly great an actor he is and how deserving he is of finally getting the Academy’s recognition as such.

This is not a film about the modern mediocrity of the country music genre, but rather a testament to what made the music grand during its hay day. Composed by Stephen Bruton and T Bone Burnett, who won four Grammies for O BROTHER WHERE ART THOU, the bluesy country music in CRAZY HEART is a thing of beauty. The song “The Weary Kind” is just the best of the best in terms of the music available on this soundtrack, currently available from New West Records and anxiously awaiting your purchase. Watch for it to potentially upset the favorites in the coming Oscar showdown.

CRAZY HEART is more than just the music, painting a portrait of a troubled man brought to this low in life by his own account. Blake is fully aware of his mistakes in life, but is determined to somehow pull himself out of the ditch and redeem his name, his character and his self worth. CRAZY HEART is both sadly heartbreaking and bittersweet, uplifting in its honesty and candor, just simply brilliant!