I finally got to knock this one off my list. And I'm really glad I finally got to it. It's always fun to watch movies after they've received their awards and accolades and then assess them for myself. The main hype around this movie was the acting of Jeff Bridges as Bad Blake, a washed-up, alcoholic country singer. Bridges earned his first Academy Award, and it was very well deserved.
Maggie Gyllenhaal, who I almost always like, plays a reporter that Bad meets in Santa Fe. She asks him for an interview and movie magic ensues. Their romance seemed just a little strange to me. He easily has 20 years on her, if not more. And their chemistry, while apparent and unforced, just bothered me a little. Only a little though. She has a son named Buddy, apparently she's a fan of Elf, played by a cute little kid named Jack Nation. Which, by the way, is an awesome and sure-fire movie star name. Jack Nation. Yeah, I can see that name in lights. I hope it's not a weird stage-mom concoction.
You know, I was going to do a tidy little plot synopsis as a part of this review. But I don't think I will now. Because frankly it's unimportant. The movie was satisfyingly undeveloped. The plot was simple, the conflict straightforward. It was pretty much just about Bad. It starts off with him performing a show in a bowling alley piss-ass-drunk, even leaving the stage to vomit in a garbage can outside. You can tell he's unsatisfied. You can tell that he's broken. You can tell that he has a lot of skeletons in his closet, a lot of baggage. But you can still tell that he's hopeful. He loves his music. And he really loves to perform. You can just tell. A bit later in the movie he walks into a bar in Santa Fe where he's playing to find a piano player who's going to be part of his backing band for the night's show just ripping on the keys. The guy's really good. And Bad acknowledges him, and his talent, and says that it's going to be really nice to play with a talented pianist again. And he does it all with a big, sincere smile on his face. Then he goes back to his motel room and gets drunk. Alone. It's that kind of dichotomy that makes Bridges' character so intriguing. The broken alcoholic juxtaposed with the enthusiastic musician.
Very little is said about his past. Besides a couple jokes about his 5 ex-wives and the mention that he has a son that he's never met. But not of that matters. Bridges takes over the screen in every frame. Everything going on plot-wise simply serves to provide a platform for Bridges' performance.
Aside from Bridges, the best part of the movie was easily the music, written primarily by T Bone Burnett, known for his work with artists like Counting Crows, Tony Bennett and Allison Krauss and Robert Plant and for soundtrack contributions to O Brother, Where Art Thou? and Walk the Line, and Ryan Bingham, a bull-rider turned Americana singer/songwriter. Bridges sings and plays guitar and so does, wait for it, Colin Farrell. (Yes, that Colin Farrell! He even sings and speaks with a country accent. Very convincingly too. I was so surprised. Farrell has always interested me, his rise and fall as one of Hollywood's baddest bad boys. And then he stunned me with his brilliant performance in In Bruges, one of my top 10 favorite films to date. While this role isn't one of his best acting endeavors, it is really good. Especially considering that he has one of the heaviest Irish dock-worker accents I've ever heard.) Every song seems to come genuinely from Bad's soul. And Bridges plays a huge role in that. He's a great singer and I'd honestly listen to anything he put out there. Full of regret and dissatisfaction, his songs epitomize the character. Frankly, the movie wouldn't be half as good without the music. And I don't even like country music. I would venture to say that I hate country music. I've always liked bluegrass and folk, just not country. It seems to be generally uninspired, ignorant, and annoying. If someone try's to tell me that that "Big Green Tractor" song is any good I swear I'm going to go postal. But this brand of country is different. It's about something more. It's honest. It's genuine. The way music should be. Good music should speak to you. And if I'm to be honest, if "Big Green Tractor" speaks to you, I'll never speak to you again.
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