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Poster
for the drama film Crazy Heart.
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Bad Makes Good by Linh
First-time
director Scott Cooper has plenty to be proud of with his debut feature film Crazy Heart. Scott Cooper never went to
film school, but his acting background and keen observations of other directors
he’s worked with, have helped to create a film with tenderness and nuanced
performances. His collaborative effort with actors Jeff Bridges and Robert
Duvall, who also produced the film, has earned Crazy Heart three Academy Award nominations that included a Best
Leading Actor Oscar for Jeff Bridges.
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MAKING MELODIES: Bad Blake (Jeff Bridges)
immerses himself in the music in the film Crazy
Heart. Image: Fox Searchlight Pictures.
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Crazy Heart is an adaptation of
Thomas Cobb’s novel of the same name, with music and lyrics by Stephen Bruton,
Ryan Bingham and T-Bone Burnett. The film tells a linear narrative of an
ageing, chain-smoking, alcoholic country music legend named Bad Blake who has
four marriages and divorces behind him, but his downward-spiralling life gets a
lift when he meets a young, single mother named Jane.
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| INTIMATE INSIGHTS: Bad Blake (Jeff Bridges) and Jane (Maggie Gyllenhaal) share some personal information in the film Crazy Heart. Image: Fox Searchlight Pictures. |
Five-time
Oscar nominee Jeff Bridges’s role of Bad Blake bears similarities to Mickey
Rourke’s character from The Wrestler.
Both have been in their careers for too long, have attempted to reconcile with
estranged family members and find redemption in the understanding arms of
women. Bridges gives a brilliant performance as the ageing country music star,
while singing and playing guitar, although the relationship with the young Jane
seems unconvincing.
After
her star turn in the blockbuster The Dark
Knight, Maggie Gyllenhaal, makes her character Jean a strong and memorable
presence in the film as well as in Bad Blake’s life. Jean develops a good
rapport with Bad Blake, and eventually opens up to let him into her
well-guarded life with her four year old son Bud. Maggie Gyllenhaal’s
performance has earned her a well-deserving Oscar nomination for Best
Supporting Actress.
The
supporting cast is equally impressive, with Robert Duvall as Bad Blake’s
long-time friend Wayne, who helps him fight alcoholism to get his career and
life back on track; Dubliner Colin Farrell is superb with an American accent
and singing voice, as Bad Blake’s former protégé Tommy Sweet; Jack Nation
steals every scene as Jane’s curious and playful son Bud; the musicians and
band members performing during Bad Blake’s gigs are tremendously talented.
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LONGTIME FRIENDS: Bad Blake (Jeff Bridges)
and Wayne (Robert Duvall) reminisce about the good old days in the film Crazy Heart. Image: Fox Searchlight
Pictures.
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Musicians
Stephen Bruton, who died of throat cancer in 2009 after completing the
soundtrack for Crazy Heart, and
T-Bone Burnett have written sumptuously sublime music to accompany the film,
that reflects the pain and hope as Bad Blake experiences the ebbs and flows of
his personal life and career. The songs also lifts the film during the few
parts where it seems to drag, while giving the audience a rare showing of Bridges’s
musical talents.
Crazy Heart is a gentle and
heart-tugging redemption tale that is touching and somewhat predictable yet is still
an enjoyable small independent film.
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DOUBLE DELIGHT: Tommy (Colin Farrell) is
proud to share the stage with his mentor Bad Blake (Jeff Bridges) in the film Crazy Heart. Image: Fox Searchlight
Pictures.
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Director: Scott Cooper
Writers: Scott Cooper (screenplay), Thomas
Cobb (novel)
Cast: Jeff Bridges, Maggie Gyllenhaal,
Robert Duvall, Colin Farrell, James Keane, Jack Nation, Brian Gleason, Harry
Zinn, Debrianna Mansini, Paul Herman, Anna Felix, Beth Grant, Ryan Bingham,
Rick Dial
Producers: Scott Cooper, Jeff
Bridges, Robert Duvall, T-Bone Burnett, Eric Brenner, Michael A. Simpson, Judy
Cairo, Rob Carliner
Original Music Composers and
Lyricists:
Ryan Bingham, Stephen Bruton, T-Bone Burnett
Cinematographer: Barry Markowitz
(Director of Photography)
Film Editor: John Axelrad, Jeffrey
Ford
Production: Waldemar Kalinowski
(Production Designer), Ben Zeller (Art Director), Carla Curry (Set Decorator)
Costume Designer: Doug Hall
Running Time: 1 hour and 50 minutes
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