Crazy Heart (15) *** (From Bournemouth Echo)

Crazy Heart (15) ***

3:29pm Friday 5th March 2010 in

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At 75 years old, and still touring rundown motels, Bad Blake (Jeff Bridges) is a shadow of his former self.

Constantly inebriated, and liable to throw up at the moment he is due to take to the makeshift stage, he strums and sings with bloodshot eyes to his loyal fans.

Before one performance, newspaper reporter Jean Craddock (Maggie Gyllenhaal) interviews Bad, and piques his interest.

Sexual chemistry between the pair is palpable but Jean is extremely wary of the sozzled celebrity: She has a young son, Buddy (Jack Nation), to protect, and she cannot let men gatecrash her life.

The singer gets under her skin, and she opens her heart to the possibility of love, but she must compete with his love for Jack Daniels and the allure of a potential comeback with former protege Tommy Sweet (Colin Farrell).

Crazy Heart hinges on the spark between Bridges and Gyllenhaal, and the two actors generate plenty of heat as their characters blunder through a romance that depends entirely on Bad’s sobriety.

The leading man’s portrayal of a drunkard doesn’t earn our sympathy with ease.

But Bridges delivers a compelling performance as a talented songwriter who has almost supped away his talent, and he is matched by Gyllenhaal’s emotionally raw portrayal of a lonely woman, heading for the kind of heartache that would inspire Bad to write one of his songs.

If only he could see straight.

Thankfully, T-Bone Burnett and Stephen Bruton’s original music is note perfect, including the Oscar nominated song The Weary Kind, that should take away the golden statuette on the night.