Crazy Heart (2009)
Average Rating: 7.4/10
Reviews Counted: 199
Fresh: 181 | Rotten: 18
Thanks to a captivating performance from Jeff Bridges, Crazy Heart transcends its overly familiar origins and finds new meaning in an old story.
Average Rating: 7.9/10
Critic Reviews: 40
Fresh: 40 | Rotten: 0
Thanks to a captivating performance from Jeff Bridges, Crazy Heart transcends its overly familiar origins and finds new meaning in an old story.
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Average Rating: 3.6/5
User Ratings: 122,405
Movie Info
A worn-down country singer and a burgeoning journalist form an unusual bond in this drama adapted from the novel by Thomas Cobb. His spirit broken by multiple failed marriages, too much time on the road, and too many nights with the bottle, Bad Blake (Jeff Bridges) had started to feel like he was headed down the path of no return. When probing young writer Jean (Maggie Gyllenhaal) digs deep enough to unearth the broken man behind the legend, however, Bad realizes that redemption may not be such
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Cast
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Jeff Bridges
Bad Blake -
Maggie Gyllenhaal
Jean Craddock -
Robert Duvall
Wayne -
Tom Bower
Bill Wilson -
Colin Farrell
Tommy Sweet -
James Keane
Manager -
William Marquez
Doctor -
Ryan Bingham
Tony -
Paul Herman
Jack Greene -
Rick Dial
Wesley Barnes -
Jack Nation
Buddy -
Beth Grant
Jo Ann -
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Ryil Adamson
Ralphie -
David Manzanares
Nick -
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Richard W. Gallegos
Jesus/Juan -
Brian Gleason
Steven Reynolds -
William Sterchi
Pat -
Chad Brummett
Young Guy -
Harry Zinn
Bartender -
Anna Felix
Barmaid -
Le Anne Lynch
Nurse -
Josh Berry
Security Guard -
Jerry Hardy
Cowboy
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Crazy Heart Trailer & Photos
All Critics (199) | Top Critics (40) | Fresh (181) | Rotten (18) | DVD (8)
Crazy Heart feels familiar, even comforting, offering few surprises but a wealth of lovingly crafted, immaculately judged, wholly authentic emotion.
Top CriticCooper lets you experience Blake's gradual reawakening right along with him, and Bridges' superb performance -- not the slight plot -- carries the weight.
This performance reminds us that Bridges is that rare actor who has never had to make that apology. Crazy Heart lets him be every bit as grand as we'd hope him to be.
The movie belongs entirely to Bridges, who won the Golden Globe for best actor in a drama. His inimitable Jeff-isms have never been more endearing - the sloppy gait, the whiskey glass balanced on his chest, his general air of discombobulation.
Crazy Heart is a familiar tune, but the harmonies reverberate.
When a movie offers you a couple of hours with a drunk, he better be a charmer. And even then, it's a gamble; we've all known charming drunks, but a little can go a long way. Fortunately for Crazy Heart, it has Jeff Bridges, who brings enough charm and ve
With great performances from Bridges and Gyllenhaal, Crazy Heart is a winner and a must-see.
Basically a live-action version of the cliche country-western song with a man down on his luck and losing everything in his life, it comes close to being a joke about itself.
Bridges' worn down country singer is as well realized as any character he's ever done. It may take a while to get going, and to develop, and to wrap up, but there's enough meat to make Crazy Heart worthwhile, even if it is made to last a while.
Played by a gracefully aging Jeff Bridges, Bad is an older, greasier and groggier version of The Dude
Cooper is so afraid of being bold and baring some soul, he achieves little more than the anachronistic, cookie-cutter blues that his lead character spent a lifetime trying to avoid.
Barry Markowitz's camerawork at times captures the hazy heat of the American southwest, giving it a sepia-toned warmth, while this grainy wash gives Blake's late-night bender scenes a green-about-the-gills feel.
Formidable acting talent aside, this is routine self-destruction-and-recovery TV movie material.
Don't expect greatness from the man named Bad
Jeff Bridges finally won his Oscar for Crazy Heart and it was well-earned indeed.
A solid (if unremarkable) script presented in a straightforward, restrained manner but enlivened by naturalistic, honest acting, Crazy Heart is more than the sum of its parts.
It isn't perfect and it isn't wholly original in terms of narrative, but the film has a warm heart and a depth of performance that makes it deserving of recommendation.
If not for the performance of Jeff Bridges, this tedious flick wouldn't be nearly as involving.
The simple story of a Merle Haggard-type has been who falls in love with a younger reporter is aided greatly by excellent songs and dazzling performances by Jeff Bridges and Colin Farrell.
Bridges raises the bar (har-har) for being shafaced onscreen, stumbling and vomiting his way to the stage in podunk clubs..."
...an aggressively uneven piece of work that would hardly be worth mentioning were it not for the efforts of Bridges and his stellar cast mates...
[Bridges] fully inhabits Blake, slowly revealing the bone-weariness of this singer's extended road trips and even more extended drinking binges.
As he comes to face consequences of this recklessness, Bad sees that his badness - his success and also the limits on it - are also shaped by the business he's in.
Tem a sorte de trazer um Jeff Bridges mais do que inspirado em seu centro -- caso contrário, poderia perfeitamente ter se tornado uma produção mais apropriada para a televisão.
If you're not fond of country music (I'm not), then Crazy Heart may sound like the kind of cracker-barrel movie you should avoid. Bridges will change your mind.
If you adore country music and have actually been in a band, you'll love Crazy Heart. Despite Bridges' brilliance, non-aficionados might find it underwhelming.
Audience Reviews for Crazy Heart
Super Reviewer
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- Wayne: Hey, you look like shit man. Oh-ho!
- Bad Blake: Yeah. I know. It's on account of all the toilets I have to play in.
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- Bad Blake: [to Tommy Sweet] Those are the ugliest goddamn boots I've ever seen in my life. Was the salesman threatenin' to shoot your dog?
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- Tony: Thought you weren't gonna show.
- Bad Blake: Son, I played sick, drunk, divorced and on the run. Bad Blake hasn't missed a goddamn show in his whole fucking life!
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- Bad Blake: Yeah fuck you, good bye!
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- Bad Blake: Wayne. I want to get sober.
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- Bad Blake: Ain't rememberin' wonderful?
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Latest News on Crazy Heart
April 10, 2012:
Woody Harrelson Wants Out of the FurnaceHe's in talks to play the bad guy in Scott Cooper's follow-up to "Crazy Heart."
February 27, 2012:
Christian Bale Wants Out of the FurnaceHe's in talk for the upcoming revenge drama from Scott Cooper ("Crazy Heart").
April 11, 2011:
Scott Cooper Directing The Low Dweller"Crazy Heart" director Scott Cooper's next project will be "The Low Dweller," a dark Relativity...
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Featured
Movie: ID: 770801608 Title: Crazy Heart Release Date: 2009-12-16 00:00:00.0 MPAA: 4 Status: 1
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Foreign Titles
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On a downward spiral is deteriorating, aging former country star Bad Blake (Bridges). During a low rent desperate road trip playing in bowling alleys and dives, Bad finds a much younger single mother journalist (Maggie Gyllenhaal) and they fall in love. Though this happens when Bad's in a drunken stupor, a game changing screw up puts the love of his life in peril. Bad knows he can't keep this relationship going unless he gets sober, with the help of friends like his buddy Robert Duvall and his younger protege Tommy Sweet, who is now a huge star, surprisingly sung and nicely embodied by Colin Farrell.
What amazed me is the palpable chemistry between Gyllenhaal and Bridges which totally won me over. It's hard enough to have good chemistry when the actors are the same age, let alone thirty years apart. Here, I bought it hook line and sinker and more importantly, I cared! It's a tribute to both actors that their love happens in such a quiet, gradual and truthful way.
Young and highly promising writer/director Scott Cooper has written and directed a note perfect chamber film. It may try the patience of some viewers, because the story avoids melodramatic histrionics and big over the top emotions, unfolding very gently. It's very similar to Duvall's Tender Mercies in tone and milieu, and in theme, it's very close to Daren Aronofsky's The Wrestler, though it's more conventional and mainstream than that Mickey Rorke vehicle.
The songs by T Bone Burnett are uniformly excellent, mostly in the vein of traditional country with slightly Freudian lyrics with subject matter that subtly touches on the themes of the film. This has my strongest recommendation, but consider yourself forewarned if you hate country music or were expecting big histrionics, gun play and chase scenes.