Is slightly small American road-movie a genre? It should be one by now. This film follows that tradition.
Crazy Heart is beautifully photographed. Really warm colours... to match the warm characters. The actors are extremely well chosen. Particularly Jeff Bridges. He's an alcoholic but also a nice man. You feel you should stay by his side. Empathy. He falls in love with a girl... who happens to be Maggie Gyllenhaal who always seems like a nice simple woman who can see the best in people you wouldn't bet.
Three things about this film.
• The Screenplay. I was expecting the worse to happen at any time. I'm not sure if was me being negative or they really wanted me to constantly think "oh here it's where it goes wrong...". The ending was bittersweet. Is it happy? Is it unhappy? Is it a lot like real life?!
• Why did it remind me so much of The Rain People? Is it the big car through the roads of America? Is it the characters who are all a bit helpless in their own way? Is it Robert Duvall?! I was surprised when he appears in the film... surprised that he wasn't doing little tricks on his police motorcycle any more, maybe. I wasn't surprised that he produced the film too. They are different films but still have a something in common that I can't figure out.
• The music. Okay. It's the story of a country singer, fine. But also country music seems to be generally the sound track of Southern America. So if you don't like country music... it can be a bit too much and ruin the film for you. Though Jeff Bridges sings very very well and I think his performance as a singer is great too.(Apart from that the sound design isn't terribly good)
I liked this film. It's not superb, but it's a perfectly humble warm film for one of those days when you need a nice time.
Crazy Heart
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