crazy heart

disclaimer-incompetent review and spoilers all over:)

crazy heart is a movie about country singer bad blake. worn out, washed up and broke, the movie initially captures blake at a point of time in his life where life seems to be in a status quo. it depicts his "stuck in a moment" style of life, his alcoholism and general lack of direction. once a great singer, he now plays in small pubs and bars in remote locations to stay afloat. enter jean(maggie gyllenhall), single mother and journalist. the movie builds up on the chemistry of the two characters, till they fall in love. the writer provides the element of hope in the otherwise hopeless life of the old singer. jean and her son buddy brings some sense of responsibility to blake. one feels that this would be the turning point in his life but i guess that's what i like about the movie. instead of taking the dreamy plunge into an all is well ending, blake stays true to his character. he's flawed, he's human. he bungles up and ends up losing jean and buddy. i like jean putting her foot down about ending things. she makes the tough decision to end her relationship even though she loves blake. the writer/director gives her character depth and puts her love for her child over herself. the writer/director then edges blake's character from loss, to remorse and regret and brings him a full circle to understanding/realization. he decides to sober up and get his priorities right. i like the way the movie ends as well. in a perfect world, jean would come back to blake and there would be a happily ever after ending. there isnt one:). instead you see a slightly maturer, a slightly changed blake and the same jean under different circumstances. the open skies and the lovely background provide a nice touch to the ending as well.

the movie is slightly slow and seems to drag its feet at places. but, in some respects that is good because the audience gets to feel the pain and the drudgery of blake's life. the music is actually very nice and changes quietly as the movie moves along. initially it is up tempo stuff and later on moves toward more introspective music. never knew country music could vary and convey so much. there are some nice cameos by robert duvall and colin farell. maggie gyllenhall does a good grounded job of playing her role. there are no frills(if thats the word) to her role and she fits perfectly in jean's shoes. jeff bridges does an amazing job playing blake. the roughness provided to blake's character makes him endearing. he colors blake's emotions in his own way making blake real and believable.

the movie is really a very nice watch.

(note to myself- i have to get that star tv movie reviewer out of my head while writing about movies)