Crazy Heart
- Jeff Bridges: Bad Blake
- Maggie Gyllenhaal: Jean Craddock
- Robert Duvall: Wayne Kramer
- Ryan Bingham: Tony
- Colin Farrell: Tommy Sweet
Crazy Heart is an American film drama from the year 2009. In Germany the film was released on March 4, 2010 in the cinemas.
Crazy Heart is the directorial debut of actor Scott Cooper and based on the novel by Thomas Cobb. The plot is inspired by the biography of the late 2007 Country singer Hank Thompson. The title Crazy Heart quotes a song by Hank Williams. The production was originally planned as a direct-to- DVD movie, but has proved to be very successful in the movies and won two Golden Globe Awards and two Academy Awards.
Action
The protagonist Bad Blake is a 57 -year-old country singer from Texas and heavy drinker. The film follows him on a concert tour with his Chevrolet Suburban by various states in the United States. He plays in seedy bars or sometimes in a bowling center - sometimes in front of barely a dozen listeners. The performances he denies each with different musicians with whom he plays only one evening and who are much younger than he. Blake is ahead of a reputation as an outstanding songwriter, in the past it several hits are successful. However, he has stopped many years ago, to write new songs.
The few, mostly older viewers who hold him until today faithfulness, see him as a legend and worship him because of his earlier successes. Blake gets drunk before his concerts with whiskey and usually provides a modest performance on stage - in one scene he storms during a performance outside and vomits. The head of his record label tried to get him to write new songs and makes him the prospect that this would also improve his financial situation. But Blake refuses, - on tour he could not write anyway.
The owner of a bar, playing in the Blake, introduces him to his niece, the journalist Jean, who would like to interview him for a local newspaper. The two get closer and spend a night together. Even with jeans four year old son Blake seems to cope well. Jean is happy about the male influence on their child asks Blake but never to drink alcohol in his presence. Because of Blake's lifestyle, their relationship develops only slowly.
The head of his record company tells Blake that he should play as the opening act for a major concert of his former protege Tommy Sweet. During the concert preparations Blake talks to Tommy, he was once a mentor, however today is significantly more successful than himself He asks Sweet vain for help in his career. The offer to record an album with old songs together with Blake, Sweet leans down - but he also asks Blake about writing new material. As Blake completed his performance as support act to Sweets concert, this comes under huge cheers from the audience onto the stage, bowing low before Blake and the two play one of Blake's songs together.
As Blake wants to pay a visit during his tour of his friend Jean, he's asleep on the ride to their place of residence one, gets off the road and injured badly in the subsequent accident. He wakes up with a broken ankle in the hospital. One of the doctors implores him to change his lifestyle radically. If he did not give up alcohol, cigarettes and junk food, a heart attack or stroke is very likely. Blake proposes the warning to the wind. The next day he spends - by his injury unable to travel - with Jean and her son. Blake begins during these days so that, again writing his own songs and comes with both Jean and her son closer.
After the tour of the musician is over, Jean comes to his request to visit him in his house. Blake takes with jeans son a trip to a shopping center. When the two go to a bar and ordered whiskey Blake, the boy suddenly disappeared, and Blake panics. The police find the child later, but Jean can not forgive Blake and leaves him.
Then Blake begins to change his life and attended meetings of Alcoholics Anonymous. After his withdrawal, he tries to win back Jean, but rejects him. With the new material, which he wrote, he gives concerts continue a few people. The song The Weary Kind, however, he wrote injured in jeans bed, he does not use himself, but leaves him Tommy Sweet, who makes the song a hit. The film ends with a grand concert of Tommy Sweet: He submits The Weary Kind on the acoustic guitar, and tells the audience that his mentor Bad Blake wrote the piece. Blake even watched the concert from jointly with the head of the record company from the backstage area. Both seem happy - both the author of the song and the record company benefit financially from the success of Tommy Sweet. Before the concert hall Blake meets the journalist Jean again. In her hand she wears an engagement ring. Blake asks you for an interview.
Criticism
" The story of the purification of a washed-up loser slides thanks to a wonderfully laconic humor and outstanding performer not to bold Moral from, but rounded up to the successful tragicomedy and carried by stirring songs tribute to country music. [ ... ]
The fact that Jeff Bridges interprets the songs themselves, making them more authentic - and increases to a not inconsiderable degree the admiration that one actor for this right already " Golden Globe " -. Needs -winning and bear in "Oscar" performance performer "
"You can see beautiful at Bridges and Gyllenhaal, as the American cinema relies on restraint and delay, that serenity that looks can float transparently in the room, and those self-consciousness, as if to words and sentences, barely finished, take back again. "
"The film leaves out hardly a cliché, starting with the rather schematic as really credible characterization of its protagonists. Is [ ... ] That Crazy Heart yet become an outstanding film, is located on the main character. Jeff Bridges, who in December was 60 years old, is a master of acting understatement. It shows all the stages of human decay without being melodramatic. "
" Jeff Bridges is the" crazy heart "of the film and the original songs by T-Bone Burnett and Stephen Bruton are its soul. At this movie no country music fan comes over! Authentic, winking and heartwarming. "
Soundtrack
The official soundtrack to the film was released on 19 January 2010 by various musicians under the New West Records label. For the theme song The Weary Kind Ryan Bingham the musician was awarded a Golden Globe Award and a Best Song at the Academy Awards 2010.
Awards
Golden Globe Awards 2010
- Best Actor - Drama ( Jeff Bridges)
- Best Original Song ( The Weary Kind )
Academy Awards 2010
- Best Actor ( Jeff Bridges)
- Best Song ( The Weary Kind )
- Also nominated Best Supporting Actress ( Maggie Gyllenhaal )