Crazy Heart

February 20, 2010 - Jeff Bridges acts and sings up a storm in this flick about an aging country singer. Maggie Gyllenhaal also stars along with Robert Duvall and Colin Farrell. T-Bone Burnett did the soundtrack of original music.

Bridges plays Bad Blake, a one-time country star now reduced to playing bowling alleys and small clubs in the southwest. He might have some money to his name if he wrote a song every now and then and if he could stop drinking that damn whiskey. During a stop in Santa Fe, he meets Jean (Gyllenhaal), a single mom who writes about the local music scene. Blake gives her an interview and a romance begins.

Blake and Jean love each other but she's wary of Blake's smoking and, especially, his drinking. The final straw comes when Jean and her son pay a visit to Blake in Houston. What happens forces Blake to reassess his life and try to salvage what's left of his career.

Overall review: *** Bridges looks every inch the aging country star he plays here and certainly deserves his Oscar nomination for Best Actor. Gyllenhaal also gets a nod for Supporting Actress as she brings her usual class and depth to her role. But, the real star here is the original soundtrack by T-Bone Burnett. It's great and helps hold together a film that often felt a little disjointed.