Jeff Bridges is the reason to watch this movie. He’s great as Bad Blake, an old country singer who’s down on his luck, with alcohol problems. He encounters a shining light in his life, Jean and her son Buddy, who turn his life around.
Although the story is nothing too original, it’s the characterization and the performances that make this special. Other than being a great actor, Bridges is also good at singing in this film. He plays a drunken singer, but it’s not an over the top drunk performance. It’s much more subtle in that he’s drunk but doesn’t really look it, his mind is just not focused and he can get lost.
He makes a mistake towards the end of the movie that prompts Jean to break up with him. That was done very subtly, the reason is that he was a little drunk, but not totally drunk. That’s why he doesn’t even admit he has a problem, he thinks he wasn’t too drunk. But that was enough for that huge mistake.
The end is not exactly happy, but it’s close for both him and Jean. Which is perfect for me. Life isn’t always happy endings. This is well worth watching and if Bridges doesn’t win the Oscars I’ll be sad.
Rating: 4 Stars