|
|||||||
|
|
|
|||||
|
|
|||||||
|
|
|
|
CRAZY HEART |
 |
|
Robert Duvall won his one and only Oscar for his portrayal of Max Sledge in the Country Western tale "Tender Mercies". So it
shouldn't surprise us that he retreated back to his roots as producer of the Country Western tale "Crazy Heart" with Jeff Bridges.
Same story, different actors and characters. But that isn't a bad thing per se. In fact it is rather appropriate since
Country western music tends to revisit the same theme over and over. Why not a movie about the genre. At the very beginning, when Summer
dumps Tom, your first thoughts might be "What a bitch!" And in a sense that
is a bit true. She's a nice looking girl who emotionally drains the guy. |
|
|
|
|
|
Bridges is Wesley Barnes, a down on his luck country singer who has had his days at the top, followed by his current
days near the gutter. He has burned through more wives and drinks than a match through gasoline. He now is lucky to get a gig performing on a porch
- he has a bad rep for drunkenness. He still has talent and when a young,
pretty reprorter from a small newspaper (Maggie Gyllenhaal) comes to interview him he begins to open up
with his tale of woe. The reporter, named Jean, finds herself attracted to him despite
common sense. |
|
|
|
|
|
She begins to follow him around from crap gig to crap gig tolerating
his fallen ways. Duvall makes a short appearance as Wayne only to fuel the irony of the
similarity between "Tender Mercies" and "Crazy Heart". And the similarity between the performances of winning role and
Bridges sure-to-be-considered performance. What can't be overlooked is Gyllenhaal, the ever sexy Gyllenhaal, who
typically takes off-beat roles and turns in sterling performances. Once again she plays the misguided
femme wonderfully. You can't help but shudder when she opens her home to Blake risking the attachment of her four-year old son to
a drunk. Fox Searchlight is releasing "Crazy Heart" and after a couple of mediocre films this year (Amelia and Adam) it's
nice to see them finish with a star. Watch to see how Bridges does during the awards season. --GEOFFREY BURTON
|
|
