Crazy Heart (2009): ”It’s funny how falling feels like flying… for a little while”

I’m not necessarily a country fan, at least not if we’re talking the “achy-breaky heart” variety. Then, on the other hand, there’s Waylon Jennings and Johnny Cash and Kris Kristofferson, and … yeah, those guys. Crazy Heart lives at that end of the street, just for a reference. Written and directed by Scott Cooper and based on the novel with the same name by Thomas Cobb, this is the story of a country music singer-songwriter called “Bad” Blake played brilliantly by Jeff Bridges. The whole narrative is actually pretty neatly summed up by the featured song “Fallin’ & Flyin’”. Well, that and “The Weary Kind”.

Before I even get into the turbulent and tragic life that is the downslide of a former country star, let me just take a minute to say that this is the most brilliant piece of casting you could possibly ask for. Bridges’ performance as a hard living, pudgy, constantly inebriated musician is absolutely stellar. This could so easily have been a melodrama, a sad and woeful tale of not wasting your talent with scoundrel ways, but there’s a wealth of humor and experience that Bridges brings to the performance that makes Bad Blake likeable, despite the fact that he is no doubt not a very pleasant person.

You will find the rest of my mad ramblings on the rambling existence of Bad Blake here:    Crazy Heart

Mule

Intermission

Director John Crowley and writer Mark O’Rowe have put together an interesting mix of comedy, action and romance with the movie Intermission (2003). The cast consists of Colin Farrell as Lehiff, Cillian Murphy as John, Colm Meaney as Jerry Lynch and Kelly Macdonald as Deirdre amongst others.

The story takes place in Dublin, Ireland and focuses on the everyday, working class side of society. The protagonists work as grocery clerks, busdrivers and police. It’s fairly gritty in style and works with more of a realistic look than an epic one. It serves up a slightly wicked sense of humor, and is quite dark in its moments.

The opening scene with Colin Farrell is a good indication of what is to come. Farrell’s character Lehiff seems to be chatting up a young lady in a shop, talking about true love and soul-mates, but the minute the store empties of customers, he viciously beats her and robs the till. It is done with the kind of callous brutality that actually constitutes real crime and as such it is quite realistic.

This is one of those stories where a group of characters lives intersect in interesting and unexpected ways. Sometimes those things can be quite pretentious and over elaborate, but this one works. It never crosses the line into feeling contrived and corny.

The whole thing gets started because John (Murphy) decides to test his girlfriend by offering to “take a brake”. That’s a classic mistake, becuase she says yes. What he wants is of course for her to say no. And this has strange and far-reaching ramifications, that escalate to kidnapping and murder.

Never mind the tough guy cop and the journalist who wants to play in the big league. We also have the emotionally wounded young lady who manages to go from closed off to full on heroine when a bus turns over.

This is a quirky, unexpected and charming piece of work. I like the fact that it won’t submit to easy classification, or conform to type.

So if you are in the mood for something that’s a little like life in its absurdity, has fun and games and violence and a screwed-up sense of realism I strongly recommend this one.

Mule