Every year, one movie seems to come out of nowhere as December dwindles down – a movie that pops up just in time to unexpectedly grab all sorts of awards attention at the last minute.

This year, that movie is “Crazy Heart,” yet further evidence that Jeff Bridges is one of our greatest and most underrated film actors.

Written and directed by first-timer Scott Cooper, “Crazy Heart” is reminiscent of “Tender Mercies,” but with its own tang and tales to tell. It’s a phoenix story of a squandered talent resurrected, and the rough road that’s involved. And it’s about perseverance and redemption, while trying to shake off a lifetime of bad habits.

Bridges plays Bad Blake, a country singer on the down-side of his career. As he keeps pleading with his agent, “I’m 57 years old and I’m broke.” He’s had his share of hits but nothing in a while. The hits are enough to draw a crowd of fans when he plays – but not a big enough crowd to warrant bookings beyond small clubs and bowling alleys.

Bad’s a pro, able to step onstage with a pick-up band and deliver a show – but not necessarily a consistent one. A drinker who tends to salve his wounded pride with a few snorts before a gig, he hasn’t had a new hit in years – and is down on his luck, financially. (When he asks the owner of the bowling alley where he’s performing to let him run a tab at the bar, the owner declines (based on Bad’s reputation), but says, “I’m proud to offer you all the free bowling you want.”)

But he’s still got his pride – which means he fights with his agent about opening a show for his former sideman, Tommy Sweet (Colin Farrell), who’s become a star singing Bad’s songs. But a big payday can’t be denied – and Tommy himself is gracious to a fault to Bad, eager to share some of the wealth and to acknowledge Bad’s contribution to his own success.

A human tumbleweed, Bad finds himself hooked by a writer he meets during a gig in Santa Fe. Jean (Maggie Gyllenhaal) loves Bad’s songs and finds herself beguiled by his good ol’ boy charm. She’s a single mom, with a 4-year-old son and a newspaper job. But she connects to Bad’s music and can’t resist his surprisingly sincere approach.

Still, she’s wary and with good reason. Bad is a rolling stone, with a home in Houston, a history of broken relationships (including an adult son he hasn’t seen since the kid was 4) and a career that’s as sketchy as his aging SUV. Jean ultimately provides the spur to Bad’s reassessment of his life and his attempt to turn it around.

The plot itself is familiar, involving a kind of betrayal and Bad’s attempt to reclaim his own life and talent. Yet it hooks you because Bridges is so genuine, so much in pain – when he finally allows himself to feel the emotions he’s been drinking to fortify himself against. It’s an outstanding performance that never descends into histrionics because Bridges doesn’t have to. He can convey pain and self-disgust with a look and a pause.

The performance is a marvel of nuance, of small shadings and quiet moments and the lived-in feeling Bridges brings to Blake, whether he’s by himself drinking in another cruddy motel room or onstage, singing a song that connects him directly to the audience. Onstage, Bridges looks like a cross between Kris Kristofferson and Waylon Jennings – an old-school country rascal who can make the corniest lyric seem deceptively sagacious.

Gyllenhaal is his match – a woman who cuts through his charm to call him on his bullshit. She’s dealt with men like Bad all her life and has other priorities now than succumbing to temporary warm feelings, when she knows what lies on the other side.

“Crazy Heart” is a compact, economical treat: full of flavor and feeling, wrapped in an unprepossessing package that contains far more than you’d ever imagine. It offers a great Jeff Bridges performance, another in a long string.

 Print This Post