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Here's what's crazy: the only awards buzz that CRAZY HEART is getting is for Jeff Bridges' lead performance and for Best Original Song. Both are more than deserved, but this film deserves even more than that. CRAZY HEART is one of the year's most well-crafted and honest dramas. Anyone who "accuses" it of following an overly familiar plot is failing to note the expertise with which the conventional storyline is handled here, even breaking away at times from what we expect. It's not surprising that some have called it this year's THE WRESTLER. The parallelisms are obvious. However (and I'll probably get insults for this), CRAZY HEART is actually a better film. It's a notch more sincere, and in this case, the lead actor's performance IS mind-blowing and totally deserving of the statuette (sorry to Mickey Rourke lovers, but I felt that his "comeback performance" was a tad overhyped). What Jeff Bridges accomplishes in the role of Bad Blake is genuinely staggering, at times very funny, but more often than not heart-breaking.
For those who think that CRAZY HEART is just another story about a guy who used to be super successful and has now hit rock bottom and wants to reconcile himself with the son he abandoned, consider the many instances in which the film deviates from convention. During the first half hour of the film we hear Bad Blake express resentment towards Tommy Sweet, a young country singer whom he mentored and who now makes much more money than him and is loved by audiences, whereas Bad has been largely forgotten. Before Tommy even appeared on screen, I already knew that Colin Farrell was the one who played him, and all I could think was "Yep, yep, I can definitely see Farrell playing the smug, handsome asshole who will probably tell the old man to get lost, rather than appreciate everything he taught him." What a blind side we get when Tommy finally shows up and we get to hear what he has to say. Farrell perfectly conveys the dilemma that Tommy has between his high position in stardom and the evidently huge amount of affection that he's got for "the guy who taught me everything I know." There's no doubt that, despite the resentment we saw Bad convey earlier, the relationship between these two guys is a tender mentor-mentee one, and one can't help but suspect that Bad probably saw Tommy as the son he never got to raise. The difference between both men is hilariously pointed out through their preference in alcoholic beverages. Tommy prefers Southern Comfort, whereas Bad likes his McLures and says "That Southern Comfort is too sweet for me."
Sweetness and absolute delight is what ensues, however, when Bad meets Jean (Maggie Gyllenhaal). She asks him about which country singers he listened to when he was a kid. He starts giving her the list, and she suddenly interrupts him with "Lefty Frizzell," and at that moment, Bad is totally enthralled by Jean. Here's yet another instance of flawless casting. Gyllenhaal is perfect for this role, with a spot-on southern accent, and that adorable smile she has, which she can so quickly and easily turn into concern and/or pain. The line that is spoken right before Bad and Jean first kiss is so good that I won't even transcribe it here. It's best experienced hearing Bridges utter it and Gyllenhaal react to it. Later in the film, there's a moment that will easily affect even the most stone-hearted viewer. Bad comforts Jean and says "I won't forget this moment, darlin', I promise," as he kisses her tears.
Some who won't have read the credits prior to watching the film will be surprised by Robert Duvall's sudden appearance in the film, as Wayne. The best to be said of his participation in CRAZY HEART comes from the conversation between Bad and Wayne about the pros and cons of calling your son after 20 years of not contacting him. One of them argues that it's "wrong" because the call should've taken place earlier, while the other says that it's "right" because, well, even if you were doing things wrong before, at least NOW you're doing it right. It's an interesting debate, which leads to the phone call between Bad and his son Steven (Brian Gleason). Here's yet another instance in which the film breaks convention: we see the same type of arguments that we normally witness in this sort of situation, but it's not with cliche lines like "You were never there for me!"
While CRAZY HEART is mostly steady in being an above-average drama, during the film's last few scenes we lose some of the fluidity that characterized what came before them. The movie jumps from (1) the fall-out between Bad and Jean, (2) to his attempts at detoxing, (3) to the film's final (mostly) positive note all too quickly. It may have been out of a desire to get to the end of the film more rapidly, and I'm not sure whether or not certain scenes were eliminated in the editing room, but nevertheless, it's a bit of a rushed ending that doesn't seem to correspond with the wonderful, leisurely pace that we had gotten used to before it. Aside from that, though, it's impossible to ignore the immense strength of the writing, the acting and even the singing (which may surprise some). The songs are original, but they sound so authentically country that one may even think of them as familiar. As Bad says at one point, "That's how it is. The good songs are always the ones you think you've heard before." CRAZY HEART may easily seem like something you've seen before, but it's impossible to deny the freshness of what it brings. Much like Clint Eastwood's MILLION DOLLAR BABY, it puts an interesting spin on a plot we've seen before. Couple that with a masterful lead performance, and you've got something that's truly special.
7/10
