Crazy Heart

FILM ONLY REVIEW

Bad Blake is a country singer but his life has taken a downwards turn over the last few years. He is now forced to play small gigs and has no record deal. He is a heavy drinker and it is taking its toll on his health. Bad is pleading with his manager to get him a record deal and some bigger gigs but it is not happening.

On arriving at a gig he gets introduced to a young reporter who wants to do a story on him and as a result they find they have a lot in common and enjoy each others company. Bad and Jo Ann start a relationship but this is going to be hard as bad is going back out on the road. He has been given a few larger gigs but he is not happy about the fact he is to be opening shows for his old partner who ditched him and made it to the big time.

Just how will the pressure of these gigs effect Bad and his drinking and what will become of his relationship with Jo Ann? Can this country singer get his life back on track?

I went into this film with no knowledge of it what so ever but the fact that it had a wonderful lead actor in made it seem worth a watch. I found the storyline to be excellent and the way the story was told to us was so engaging and emotional at times. There was no mention as to whether this was a true story or not but I just cold not shake of the feeling that it seemed so real and wondered where the writers got their inspiration from.

The lead role of Bad was played by Jeff Bridges and right from the start of the film he has be mesmerised. He looked great in the cowboy type clothes he wore and the hat looked great on him. He was easily able to get me feeling sorry for him and quite emotional when things went bad for him all the way through the film and for me this is always a sign of a great film. What impressed me the most about his performance was his voice, he did a lot of singing in the film and I was shocked to discover he has such a good voice. He sang the songs so well I was actually toe tapping along for the majority of them and the way he carried himself on stage was very believable. I did have the slight problem of not always being able to understand what he was saying during some of his speeches as his accent and the slurring of his words was quite strong at times. He worked very well with the role of Jo Ann and despite the large age gap they looked good together and they had a very good chemistry. Jo Ann was played by Beth Grant and she too did a great job. I enjoyed the freshness she bought to the story and the fact she got Bad to open up so we could see another side to him.

We did have some other very good actors in the film and the one which stood out for me and did surprise me was Tommy, he was played by Colin Farrell. He looked good with the long hair and clothes that he wore and I was even more surprised when he started singing. He has a great voice which seemed very natural with the style of the songs. Other actors in the film included, Ryan Bingham, Tom Bower and Robert Duvall, they all only really had small parts but they did manage to bring a little depth to the story.

The film was set in a variety of locations as Bad toured around and despite this we did not actually get to see much scenery. We did however get to see a variety of bars and clubs when Bad played. They all looked good and the detail in them was nice but they did all seem to blend into one and there was no real difference in them. The outside shots which we occasionally got were all good and we did have one or two good backdrops. The costumes were another good part of the film and there was a definite cowboy feel to them all. I loved how they wore big hats and had long hair and felt it made the film and story even more believable as there is no way this would have worked so well had the music had a rock or pop feel. Speaking of the music, this was excellent and I was surprised by how much I enjoyed it all. There was only country tracks in the film and they were all of a very high standard. The soundtrack was mainly of Bad’s songs which he was performing on stage and I did comment to hubby that it is definitely an album I will be looking to buy.

There are no bonus features to speak about as I am reviewing the film only. The running time of the film is 112 minutes and I fond this to be a great length with the story moving at a steady pace throughout. There is a 15 rate on the film and I do agree with this as there is some swearing and the theme with the drinking is not really suitable for the younger viewer. The film can be bought on DVD for around £7 and I think it is well worth this price and it is currently being shown on Sky movies.

I am more than happy to give this film a very high recommendation and the full 5 stars. The storyline was engaging and the acting was moving and powerful and did pull at my heart strings at times. This is definitely a film for Jeff Bridges fans or anyone who enjoys films with a first class soundtrack.