Crazy Heart or Crazy Heart, Crazy Heart (2009) is one of the best country films in the genre. This article is about American cinema, but there are also Indian and Turkish films of the same name. The main character is a 57-year-old country outlaw, on the verge of a foul, performing in eateries and bowling alleys. Jeff Bridges played his Bad Blake, inspired by Kris Kristofferson and Stephen Bruton (musician and songwriter, author of many songs for the film). But these aviators, hat and beard are definitely Waylon Jennings and Hank Williams II. And somewhere even David Allan Coe and Merle Haggard.
On the one hand, Bad is a legendary bad guy who is on an eternal tour, whiskey bottles and women replace each other, both for one night, the wild romance of a fallen country star, a man who still touches people’s hearts and gathers halls: when he sings, they listen to him, the audience is ready to tolerate even his dismissive antics on stage.
On the other hand, Bad is really bad, he is a chronic alcoholic with shaken health, bankrupt, a tumbleweed without love and family, hating himself for his vices.
For me personally, Crazy Heart is a name that seems to consist of Crazy Arms and Your Cheating Heart (little masterpieces from Jerry Lee and Hank the First). I first watched this movie about 10 years ago and then it made a much less impression on me than when I watched it the other day.
The heroine Maggie Gyllenhaal then seemed to me ugly and hysterical, and now quite cute and natural, whose position deserves respect. Then she worried that he would not be there all the time, expressed something to him. She was regularly dissatisfied with his addiction to booze. And then she made a scandal for him – all because he lost her son, who was quickly found.
And he really just turned away and that’s it – the kid disappeared. Of course, Bud shouldn’t have gone to the bar with him, but if he did, he had to not hide what he was drinking and generally keep an eye on the kid.
Now, being a father, I understand that of course this is tin. The baby could not be found at all or he could get lost for a long time with a threat to health and life, get run over by a car, to bad people, etc. If our hero had not been drunk, he would not have let him look around so thoughtlessly in an unfamiliar place. In general, the behavior of little Buddy’s mother is justified. Although she is also “well done” with such an attitude towards men that they say they all cause her and her son pain. Yes, of course, her premonition said that she should not have come to visit the country man, and now her worst fears were justified.
Of course, after that, Bad really leaned on his beloved McClaire Whiskey. Well, then I went to rehab. A classic from the days of Hank Williams. Anyway, he missed this chance to be with those whom he loves and who loved him. That’s the price.
He still got out of the blue pit, but it was too late. He transformed his sad experience into songs, this is the best thing that could be done. And at the end he composed perhaps his best song about the Crazy Heart (The Weary Kind). I accepted my defeat so that there would be a victory. Such a sad, but life-affirming ending. Do not repeat mistakes, but even if you have lost everything, you need to move on.
The scene where Bad is opening for Tommy was filmed at a real concert by Toby Keith. Blake Shelton, Brad Paisley, Kenny Chesney, Tim McGraw, Garth Brooks: in my opinion, everything is too perfect for them, they sing beautifully, their music is impeccable, but everything is too emasculated, there are no natural rough edges, and sometimes they lack the charisma that comes with life experience, they look such boys-majors. To give or take, the same popsoviki, members of boy bands, so clean, correct and successful, it’s disgusting to look at.
The quasi-biopic about singing in pubs, based on the novel by Thomas Cobb (partly based on the life story of country singer Hank Thompson) is a remake of the old Tender Mercies movie with Robert Duval, who also found a place here, who received an Oscar for Best Actor in 1983. The recipe is proven – as a result, Jeff Bridges also collected a series of awards for the role of Blake, including his first Oscar in 60 years. Among the producers of the film are Bridges and Duvall themselves, as well as T-Bone Burnette, the one who participated in the creation of the films “Oh, where are you brother?”, “Cross the Line”, the TV series “Nashville”, etc.
