This movie captured my attention from the beginning. Having always liked Jeff Bridges and Robert Duvall, I was prepared to enjoy fine acting and gripping story; however, what I actually saw was the cast living this story of one man's salvation. To me the excellence of story telling lies in the detail and completion that make a scene realistic. It is here. The scene in the bar when Bridges and Duvall reacquaint personifies that detail. Little mannerisms that come naturally during conversations with friends are there. Mr Bridges character is a combination of Hank Williams, Jr and Waylon Jennings with a little Willie Nelson thrown in. His understated performance makes the character his, not just a good job. I think this movie deserves a second watch to catch the little nuances overlooked the first time. By the way, if you like country music, you will like the score very much. I think Spencer Tracy said, "Don't let them catch you acting.". Well, I didn't see Bridges, Duvall or Gyllenhaal acting - they were living the story.Read full review
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: Pre-owned
Here is the movie that the ridiculously talented Jeff Bridges finally won an Oscar for, and deservedly so. His performance is the gleaming highlight of this film in the best way possible. He is playing washed up country singer Bad Blake, trying to overcome alcoholism and a dying career. The story is very touching, and how could you expect anything less than incredible from a character study piloted by Jeff Bridges. The film has a very organized focus on Bridges' character but he is also backed by a fantastic supporting cast. Maggie Gyllenhaal plays an aspiring reporter who interviews Blake, only to fall in love with him shortly after. Her performance is equally touching and feels so real alongside Bridges. Colin Farrell plays Tommy Sweet, an old friendship of Bad Blake's that went sour somewhere along the line. And then of course there is the small yet significant role of Bad Blake's long time old fishing buddy Wayne, played by the masterful Robert Duvall. The limited number of scenes between Bridges and Duvall are some of the best and most sincere of the movie. Crazy Heart is a great film to watch in order to see fantastic actors do what they do best... act. The character development in Crazy Heart embodies the movie's strong suit, which is the wonderful acting ability of the cast. There is not a moment when you don't believe in these characters and you truly feel that they are sincere and real. It is also just so incredibly satisfying to watch legends like Bridges and Duvall act side by side in beautiful and perfectly fitting roles such as these. The story of Bad Blake itself is very interesting, but the characters are where the heart and soul of the movie lay. The plot leaves something to be desired, but it doesn't fault the movie as much as it could when you have such great actors filling the roles of such articulated characters. This is a solid movie that is a pure delight to watch.Read full review
When Thomas Cobb wrote this novel around 1988, he probably wasn't thinking to the future of how true it is when we hear others say how life imitates art. Well, get this! Ryan Bingham, who plays Tony (the musician Bad talks to at the bowling alley) is a real-life 30 year old rising country-rock star from Hobbs, New Mexico. Bingham co-wrote "The Weary Kind" with T-Bone Burnett. Bingham's recording of "The Weary Kind" won a Golden Globe & an Oscar for Best Original Song. The real Ryan Bingham won an Oscar while a fictional Ryan Bingham, played by George Clooney in "Up in the Air" 2009, who was nominated the same year, did not. That's really freaky. When Bad Blake (Jeff Bridges) gets on stage, the world stands still to watch & listen as this veteran country music legend departs the wise old words of life in his songs. Actually Jeff Bridges had a long time appreciation for T-Bone Burnett, who worked on the music score on the "The Big Lebowski 1998). Jeff only agreed to play the role if T-Bone Burnett agreed to contribute a track for him to play on screen. Married 4 times with a son to boot, Bad can't remember a time when he performed without getting lit. Once on the wagon, he made this comment to Wayne after performing his first sober performance. Alcohol changes the way you saw things. A more colorful person comes out of long term contemplation of sorrow behind a bottle, sitting on a barstool, regretting everything you did & said wrong. Actually, the best line in the film was said by Bad, "Whole worlds have been tamed by men who ate biscuits." There's not enough dark matter in the universe to fill over all the guilt you have for messing up things. Scott Cooper, who originally wrote the screenplay as well as directed & shot this film in 24 days, does a wonderful job bringing this character to life. Although there were a few goofs in the film (nothing outstanding), the film would have been much better in my opinion if they had they kept the long scene labeled Bad relapses in the film and off the editing floor. This scenes includes a hilariously tipsey woman named Donna (Annie Dorley) who happens to be drinking in a local bar. Since the entire scene was removed, it only appears under the deleted scenes area where Dorley does get mentioned. We soon find Bad and her asleep in the back seat of his truck awaking in a drunken stupor and discover his truck will not start. Bad gets out to go for help and winds up falling down on his but in the muddy ground in the middle of a rainstorm. Typically watching a squalling man lying in the mud would only make people angry, but knowing how talented this guy is, you really start feeling sorry for him. Bad's relationship with Jean Craddock (Maggie Gyllenhaal) starts out quite nice, but somehow, Bad has trouble keeping women for very long. Although he's trying real hard, she wants a perfect man and can't put with his miserable self destructive qualities. I can't really say whether Bad deserved her rejection the way it turned out, but hey, that the movies. I don't have any idea why Bad didn't wind up dead in a broken down sleazy motel dead of alcohol poisoning. The best thing in Bad's life happens to be an old bar owner named Wayne (Robert Duvall). Duvall's role in "Tender Mercies" happens to happens to parallel "Crazy Heart" in a lot of ways and won Duvall and Academy Award as well. Thanks to Toby Keith for allowing Bridges & Colin Farrell to perform at the Journal Pavilion in Albequerque.Read full review
I bought this DVD for several reasons; first, I'm a big Jeff Bridges fan but aside from that it is a great film. Second, it won an Academy Award for best actor but all the actors did a great job. The music was fantastic and Jeff Bridges showed that he is a talented musician as well as actor. The story line is thought provoking - how many actors and musicians have had their lives destroyed by alcohol or drugs? This movie shows the tragic side of a talented musician ruled by his own demons, I found it was very realistic. Even though I love Jeff Bridges, there were times when his character totally disgusted me; thus the academy award for best actor. I was disappointed with the ending; guess I wanted everyone to live happily ever after. But as in real life sometimes we just have to pay the price for our mistakes even though we've turned our lives around. To sum it up: realistic script, great acting, good music, an overall great film.Read full review
Jeff Bridges gives one of his finest performances EVER in Crazy Heart. His oft-married, booze-soaked troubadour Bad Blake has just rolled into Santa Fe when he meets Maggie Gyllenhaal's journalist Jean. "Where do all the songs come from?" she asks during their initial encounter. "Life, unfortunately," he sighs. Against Jean's better judgment, her fling with Blake blooms into a full-fledged relationship. Between gigs, Blake hangs out with the divorcée and her 4-year-old son, with whom he establishes an instant rapport, possibly because the musician is just an overgrown kid himself (and also because he hasn't seen his own boy in years). While Blake plays juke joints, his protégé, Tommy Sweet (Colin Farrell, cast against type to fine effect), plays stadiums, but just when director Scott Cooper's debut seems to be going down the same path as A Star Is Born, Sweet offers his mentor an opportunity that could revive his reputation--at the expense of his still-healthy ego. Between Jean and Tommy, things start looking up for Blake until a critical error puts his stab at redemption in jeopardy. Once Robert Duvall enters the scene as Blake's favorite bartender, it's clear that Cooper has Tender Mercies in his sights, but Crazy Heart, which features music by T-Bone Burnett and rough-hewn singing by its Golden Globe/Oscar winning star Jeff Bridges is a film that should make your DVD collection.Read full review
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