Reel Critic:

Jeff Bridges has been associated with show business literally since birth. The son of famous actor Lloyd Bridges and actress/poet Dorothy Bridges and the brother of fellow actor Beau, young Jeff appeared in his first film at age 11. The 60-year-old actor has enjoyed a very successful career and has appeared in more than 70 productions. Despite this success, industry recognition has mostly eluded Bridges, other than scattered nominations for awards he has yet to win.

Thanks to his starring role in “Crazy Heart” playing broken-down country singer Bad Blake, Bridges can no longer claim to be underappreciated. Bridges’ performance has already earned him best actor recognition by both the Golden Globes and Screen Actors Guild. Beating out such popular actors as George Clooney and Morgan Freeman has definitely cast Bridges as the favorite for the Academy Award, the nominations for which will be announced in February.

“Crazy Heart” tells a familiar story of a popular country singer sinking into the abyss of alcoholism. Bad Blake has squandered his career and relationships to the point that he is traveling the Southwest in a rickety truck playing gigs in bowling alleys with pickup bands. Bad’s agent (James Keane) harangues him into booking seemingly endless one-nighters while simultaneously begging him to return to his most lucrative talent — songwriting.

Bad has written some very popular songs over the years but none lately. Tommy Sweet (Colin Farrell), an old bandmate, has become a wildly popular country star mostly playing Bad’s songs. However, the royalties are starting to dry up as Sweet has had to move on to new material. Tommy would also like Bad to write new music and even appear with him. Despite the money this would bring him, Bad isn’t interested.

Bad’s life seems to take a turn for the better when he meets Jean (Maggie Gyllenhaal), a small-time journalist assigned to interview him. Spending time together during a rare two-night booking, the couple become close and Bad also befriends Jean’s young son, Buddy (Jack Nation). A few days later, Bad falls asleep at the wheel of his truck and breaks his ankle in the resulting crash. Having nobody else in his life, he calls Jean and prevails upon her to put him up during his convalescence.

What eventually becomes obvious is that Bad has quit writing because he no longer has any life experience to draw upon. His life has become a series of low-playing gigs, and his drinking has reduced him to a pathetic figure. It is apparent to everyone, and perhaps even Bad himself, that his lifestyle is killing him and the end is close at hand if he doesn’t make a radical change.

What makes this rather pedestrian plot remarkable is Bridges’ amazing performance. Bad Blake is reminiscent of several real-life and fictional characters. Nonetheless, Bridges plays him perfectly as a sometimes charming reprobate whose immense talent has given him something of a free pass most of his life. Bad is simply worn out but can’t quite seem to escape the destructive cycle he has created. When he finally has his epiphany, it is both painful and beautiful to watch.

Farrell is perhaps not the first actor one would think should play a country mega-star in the Brad Paisley mold. It is apparent Farrell must consciously subdue his Irish brogue at times, but the musical performance aspect of his portrayal is very believable.

Both Farrell and Bridges actually perform the music in the film, which adds immensely to the sense of realism. Gyllenhaal is also noteworthy as the fragile Jean, who puts aside her trepidation regarding Bad and holds on for dear life as she rides the inevitable emotional roller coaster.

A notable aspect of “Crazy Heart” is that first-time director Scott Cooper, who also wrote the screenplay, has chosen not to wrap up this story in the usual Hollywood manner. Real life is messy, and the ultimate outcome of Bad’s story is not neat and clean or necessarily predictable.

Clearly, this is the finest performance of Bridges’ career and arguably the best of the past year. “Crazy Heart” was in limited release until very recently and can now be seen locally. In a strong year for American cinema, this performance clearly stands out.

VAN NOVACK is the assistant vice president of institutional research and assessment at Cal State Long Beach and lives in Huntington Beach with his wife, Elizabeth.