Day 37: "I used to be somebody, but now I am sombody else."

Writer/director Scott Cooper's Crazy Heart is a marvelous character study of a country star whose life has been in a downward spiral for many years.  The story of "Bad" Blake opens with his lonely, pathetic life on the road and shows us the despair in his performances.  An old school legend on guitar, he attempts to smoke, drink and screw the pain out of his life.  Blake was responsible for the modern country stars that are currently touring, and getting rich and popular in the process.  We see the pain that this causes him, and how he tries to bury it.  This is a man trying to run away from the beast he is responsible for, but he cannot because the music is his one consistent love.  This movie guides the viewer through so many of this poor man's ups and downs (ok, more downs than ups) that you cannot help but develop an emotional connection to "Bad."  I really liked this movie a lot, and it is the best pure character study I have seen since 1997's Boogie Nights.  It is that good.

Now, anyone following this blog is well aware of my feelings towards Jeff Bridges.  He won the Academy Award for his performance of Blake, and it was well earned.  This character will live in the pantheon of iconic roles he has played throughout his career, including, but not limited to: The Dude, Kevin Flynn, Preston Tucker and Jack Prescott.  Hands down my favorite actor working today.  Maggie Gyllenhaal plays his inspiration in the movie, using her character to show what can drive a man to do amazing things with his life.  Robert Duvall and Colin Farrell have brief, but very strong and vibrant cameos as well.

I am in no way a country music fan, but this movie was a penetrating look into the life of a dysfunctional star and the amazing power that one person's influence can hold in that life. 9.25/10.

Tomorrow's movie: I'm gonna go pot luck again.  I'm thinning the DVD herd and picking up some new stuff, so I have no idea what's going to motivate me right now.  No hockey until the playoffs start later this week, so my blogs should be up a bit earlier for a while (please Flyers.....let this be your year).  See you then, and GO WATCH A MOVIE!!