Crazy Heart

Imagine the Dude totally run to seed and with a liking for more than the occasional White Russian. That's country singer Bad Blake. He may be an alcoholic but he's inevitably a rather likeable bear of a man purely because he's played by Jeff Bridges. That's crucial for our understanding of why single mother Jean succumbs to the charms of a man old enough to be her father, with a history of broken marriages and a drink problem. He might be suffering from creative block but it's clear he's talented and he prides himself on never mising a gig, no matter the circumstances. There's nothing particularly new here although the trajectory doesn't go *quite* as we might expect: Bad's estranged son, who he hasn't seen since he was 4, doesn't even want to talk to him let alone reconcile; his protegee Tommy is still fond of his mentor and goes out of his way to help him; Bad and Jean meet again at the end but it's obvious she's moved on; Bad does indeed seem to have cleaned up his life and begun to write again. It makes for a bittersweet ending but a curiously hopeful one. And then there's the music. I don't like country music but I was tapping my feet to these tunes, and Bridges makes a wonderfully growly singer. It might not be his best performance but at least it got him a long overdue Oscar.