***1/2
Starring Jeff Bridges, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Robert Duvall and Colin Farrell.
Directed by Scott Cooper.
Jeff Bridges has already won the Golden Globe and SAG award for his work here, and I hope he goes on to win the Academy Award for this. It's not just a gold-watch type win either (like Paul Newman in Color of Money or Alan Arkin in Little Miss Sunshine). Bridges has been steadily good for four decades now, and while he's fine in stuff like Iron Man, this serves as a reminder of how good he can really be when given the room to let a character breathe.
Here he plays Bad Blake, a one-time famous C&W singer whose career has degenerated to him playing bowling alleys and saloons in towns like Pueblo. He's ornery, drunk, coasting on fame fumes. He gets a chance to make money again by opening for Tommy Sweet (Colin Farrell), a former protege who's hit it big. He also begins a romance with a Santa Fe reporter (Maggie Gyllenhaal).
This was one where I really enjoyed the performances and was really nervous that any second, something tragic was going to happen. No one can drink that much and not have some consequences.
The music is a supporting player. They sound like songs that were hits at one time and can still be enjoyed nostalgically. I'm thinking this will have a Best Song win come Academy night too.
No comments:
Post a Comment