RSS 2.0 FeedJanuary 27, 2010, Film
"Crazy Heart"
Jeff Bridges delivers the best performance of his long career as an alcoholic country singer in "Crazy Heart."
Every once in a blue moon, an actors get a role they were born to play. This was certainly true of four-time Academy Award nominee Jeff Bridges, who in Crazy Heart, slips into the soul of an alcoholic, washed-up country singer with the same ease as it takes to put on worn slippers.
Bad Blake (Bridges) has lived the hard life he sings about in the songs that once upon a time made him famous. Relegated to performing in bowling alleys, Blake, with a baggage full of regret and a bottle of beer always within reach, travels in a Chevy truck that's as beat up as its haggard driver.
It's in Santa Fe where Blake meets Jean (Maggie Gyllenhaal), a strong yet vulnerable single mother who interviews him for a story in a local newspaper. Despite Blake's age of 57, Jean develops an attraction for him. Blake also finds himself falling for her and her little boy.
Things look up even more for Blake after he reluctantly works again with his former protégé, Tommy Sweet (Colin Farrell). We don't know exactly what caused their split, but nevertheless Sweet is now a big country singer, which Farrell does not pull off well, and he attempts to show appreciation to the man who taught him everything he knows.
All of this inspires Blake to write new material for the first time in years; however, the specter of alcoholism is always in Blake's self-destructive life and when it rears its ugly head again, it causes him to hit rock bottom.
Waylon Jennings. Merle Haggard. Johnny Cash. Willie Nelson. They were all a kind of renegade country singer who lived hard lives, battled numerous demons, and wrote/performed honest, personal songs about it all. Thanks to the writing and directing of Scott Cooper, Bad Blake is the epitome of those aforementioned country legends. Yet what makes him unforgettable is the masterful delivery given by Bridges whose seamless performance is one for the ages. Waylon and the boys would be proud.
On a letter grade scale from A being excellent to F for failing, Crazy Heart receives an A-.
Crazy Heart is rated R and has a running time of 112 minutes.
Now showing through January 28 at Tivoli Cinemas
Westport Manor Square
4050 Pennsylvania, Kansas City
Visit www.tivolikc.com or call 913-383-7756 for show times.
Glenwood Arts
9575 Metcalf, Overland Park
For tickets, call 913-642-4404, or online at www.fineartsgroup.com
Indie Film Editor
Michael D. Smith earned a Bachelor of Arts in history at College of the Ozarks in Point Lookout, Missouri followed by a Master of Arts in history at the University of Missouri-Kansas City.
Inspired by such critics as Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert, Michael started reviewing films in 1992 for College of the Ozarks's student-run newspaper. After returning to the Kansas City area in 1994, he continued film reviewing by writing for the Cass County Democrat Missourian in Harrisonville.
In 2000 Michael joined Sun Publications in Overland Park, Kansas where he served as its film critic and Arts and Entertainment Editor. During his tenure there, he was also the film critic for the "Fine Arts Radio Hour" and "Celebrity Scoop" radio shows on KXTR. After leaving the Sun in late 2002, he became the A&E writer for the Olathe News in Olathe, Kansas. He also worked as a freelance writer for The Squire in Leawood, Showcase Publishing in Lake Ozark, Missouri and the Kansas City Star.
Michael is currently a member of the Kansas City Film Critics Circle, a professional film critic organization established in 1966 by the late Dr. James Loutzenhiser.
All material contained in KCMetropolis.org is the property of or licensed for use by KCMetropolis.org. Any use, duplication, or reproduction of any or all content of this publication is prohibited except with the express written permission of KCMetropolis.org or the original copyright holders.