Crazy Heart

The Dude is in. Bad Blake is down and out.

Washed-up country singer Bad (Jeff Bridges) drives around the Southwest in his ’78 Suburban playing his legendary songs to still-dedicated crowds in order to maintain relevancy in a music genre he once defined. Years of drinking, bedding women and forgetting to write new material have led to alcoholism, multiple divorces and an empty bank account (respectively). While stopping off in Sante Fe for a gig, Bad grants an interview to local reporter Jean Craddock (Maggie Gyllenhaal), whose visit makes Bad realize how “ugly” his situation has become. Their budding relationship and advice from bartending-best-friend Wayne (Robert Duvall) makes Bad think twice about a path of purification. He starts to re-evaluate his attitude towards former protege, new-age country star Tommy Sweet (Colin Farrell) as well as toward reaching out to his estranged son.

Writer-director Scott Cooper comes across far more experienced than his record would bely. In his first feature, Cooper utilizes both the blinding Southwestern sun and gorgeously vast desert landscapes to his narrative liking. Though veering into the familiar over-the-hill-musician-with-subtsance-abuse-problem territory, Cooper’s screenplay, adapted from the novel by Thomas Cobb, remains strong enough.

And once it’s delivered into the hands of its leading man, the film is elevated to mastery. Bridges delivers a superiorly crafted performance down to every country growl, accepted resentment and sip of whisky. An expert at combining nonchalance and intelligence, Bridges breathes weary realism into Bad. An unexpected, refreshing surprise of the film is how adeptly Gyllenhaal holds her own with her co-star’s powerhouse performance; she bestows her role with nuanced understanding and maturity, reminding the audience that Jean is much more than a mere catalyst for the film.

With one of the most memorable performances of the year­—and the future harbinger, finally, of an Oscar for Bridges—Crazy Heart is a moving portrait of a man’s rebirth.