Anyone see CRAZY HEART?

[Jane2]

Posted: 12/25/09 at 1:15pm

I saw that film last night (along with NINE, oy). But Crazy Heart should get Jeff Bridges the Oscar as well as the GG, I thought.

The film is kind of slow, and if Bridges weren't so mesmerizing, I may have been bored at times. But I wasn't, and I have to give credit to Maggie Gyllenhaal also.

Simple story well told, and now I'm on to country music!

[ray-andallthatjazz86]

Posted: 12/25/09 at 2:10pm

I'll go see it, but it looks exactly like THE WRESTLER but set in the country world. I loved THE WRESTLER, loved Mickey Rourke and Marisa Tomei in it, so a country re-make of it a year later seems like a knockoff. Still, Bridges' performance has so much buzz, I'll give it a chance. Nice to see you thought he did a good job.

[Jane2]

Posted: 12/25/09 at 2:15pm

I hadn't seen The Wrestler but the people I saw Crazy Heart with were making that comparison.

the story had a few surprising twists which I enjoyed, but the really strong reason to see this film is Bridges. I can't get over it.

[SueleenGay]

Posted: 12/26/09 at 8:52am

It looks like a cross between Tender Mercies and Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore, two of my favorite films.

[Jane2]

Posted: 12/26/09 at 11:46am

I saw Tender Mercies (another Duvall film) but I don't remember if I saw Alice. This one is a little on the raw side. The more time that goes by since I saw it, the more I realize how much I liked it.

[Borstalboy]

Posted: 12/26/09 at 2:36pm

It was between this and UP IN THE AIR last night.

Chose UP IN THE AIR. I regret it.

[Jane2]

Posted: 12/26/09 at 2:44pm

Borstal, that's funny. I had wanted to see Up in the Air, but it wasn't available, so I reluctantly watched Crazy Heart! Glad I did!

[AC126748]

Posted: 12/26/09 at 4:49pm

I really couldn't get on the Crazy Heart bandwagon. Bridges is tremendous, and will without a doubt be a heavy award show contender, but the film is toothless. No conflict and no reason that you would care about the characters. The only similarity between this and the far superior Wrestler is that they're both about selfish fiftysomething losers about whom, for some reason, you are supposed to care.

Updated On: 12/26/09 at 04:49 PM

[Jane2]

Posted: 12/26/09 at 4:57pm

I found that beneath the selfish exterior, Bridges, in a very layered performance, showed a soft hearted man. Especially in that he loved the boy so much. When he wasn't drunk, I found him likeable.

If for nothing else, this film should be seen for a masterpiece in acting.

[LionessInWinter]

Posted: 12/27/09 at 4:31pm

Loved Bridges, loved the music.
Definitely nothing new storywise, but I really enjoyed it anyway because of those two. I've pre-ordered the soundtrack already. And I'm not a particular country music lover.

I thought that kid was quite cute, too.

[Craww]

Posted: 12/27/09 at 7:14pm

My mom is literally a Jeff Bridges fanatic. She posts on his message board, has like 90% of his movies (most of them awful, sadly), has one of his photography books (X-mas present from moi), etc etc. I can't help but pull for him this awards season, if only for her sake.

Haven't seen it yet, but probably soon.

[LionessInWinter]

Posted: 12/27/09 at 7:38pm

(Craww) has like 90% of his movies (most of them awful, sadly)
Wow, she is a fan. Which ones included in "most" would be awful?

[Craww]

Posted: 12/27/09 at 8:28pm

I'm probably a little tough on the Bridges oeuvre. Most of them are "okay, so I saw that...no need to own it". Inconsequential movies. A lot of the 70s stuff is just "eh, whatevs". When I say awful I mean annoying standouts like Masked and Anonymous or K-Pax. I think I remember particularly hating Simpatico, too. (There's a good handful I didn't make it through, for one reason or another. Most notably Against All Odds, which sort of intrinsically grosses me out.)

A lot of the movies are good. It's just the compulsion she has to own it, whether she even liked it or not. We just bought The Open Road with Justin Timberlake and JB for her (Christmas). It does not look promising.

She's not creepy about it, just super devoted. It's kind of cute, really.

Updated On: 12/27/09 at 08:28 PM

[Jane2]

Posted: 12/27/09 at 9:13pm

Lioness - I'm not a country music fan either, and have never pre-ordered anything.

However - I just loved the music from the film and I pre-ordered the cd!

[LionessInWinter]

Posted: 12/27/09 at 10:24pm

Most notably Against All Odds
Yeah, not fond of the film, but love, love the soundtrack.

And speaking of soundtracks...

T. Bone Burnett is amazing when it comes to putting together soundtracks/scores. Crazy Heart will be the third or fourth (off the top of my head) of his soundtracks that I'll own.
Another type of music that I don't really like along country lines is bluegrass (or at least I do only in very small doses), but I totally love the O Brother, Where Art Thou soundtrack, too.

BTW, not sure if you saw there seem to be 2 versions of the soundtrack. I ordered the extended version with all 22 songs in the film.

On a note of trivia, his ex-wife, Sam Phillips, also has a song in Crazy Heart. I've been a big fan of hers for about 20 yrs and have several of her CD's, too.