Loving Bad Blake

Wow. What a performance by Jeff Bridges in "Crazy Heart." I won't give anything away, but it's a gem of a quiet little movie with Jeff Bridges showing the real underbelly of this character, Bad Blake. After one of his many nights of drinking, waking up with his greasy hair and bottle tucked under his arm you can practically smell the whiskey - and the stank - on him. His performance is comparable to Robert Duvall in "Tender Mercies." Both of these guys, you believe they are their characters. Right down to the age spots on their hands, worn in cowboy boots, suffer no fools mentality and Wrangler denim shirts that coulda been faded as much from the hot Southern sun as being washed a hundred times.

And then to my delight, Robert Duvall does come walking in to "Crazy Heart" delivering the most wonderfully understated performance. He uses few words to represent his character and in the end you admire him all the more for it. Maggie Gyllenhaal was ok in her role giving Bad Blake lots of dreamy looks but Colin Farrell as the young protege of Bad Blake who now headlines the shows; not so much. No zest, no excitement, no charisma for me. I know a lot of country singers (they are my friends) and none are as drab as him. My opinion.

But back to Jeff Bridges and Bad Blake. Since he is in every scene, it is his role that shines beginning to end. It's one of those movies that I can't stop thinking about. 4 stars. Loved, loved, loved it. I hope he wins the Academy Award for Best Actor. He deserves it.
He melted my icy blue heart.