Movie review: "Crazy Heart"

"Crazy Heart" was released in 2009

Rated R, 1 hr 52 mins
Directed by Scott Cooper
Jeff Bridges as Bad Blake
Maggie Gyllenhaal as Jean Craddock

(The country tunes in this film are real good)

Bad Blake is a genuine country singer that some folks have forgotten.

Technically, I guess, Blake is not a loser: he is a celebrity performer, he has CDs to sell, he can write killer country lyrics, he opens for a hot current star, and he's mostly honest with himself. But he loses: loses his wives, loses touch with his son, lets drinking run him off the road to opportunity, loses his relationship with the woman that, finally, he loves in a way that makes his life livable and worth living….

It's tempting to say that "Crazy Heart" is a film about the flaws and successes of a man striving for redemption, but I don't really see it that way.

I see Bad Blake as a man who knows what he is, knows what he can be, finally knows what he wants, and ultimately has to accept solitary self-renewal instead of salvation in Jean's arms….ultimately, and poignantly, he admits to himself and confirms to Jean that all he has left is to live "one day at a time"…..

There is a lot of heart in those words, but a lot of heart has already drained out of them.

Copyright © Richard Carl Subber 2015 All rights reserved.