"The Harder the Life, the Sweeter the Song"
Jeff Bridges moving performance as Bad Blake truly deserves all the accolades he has garnered from his peers and the different awards giving bodies who honored him with the Best Actor trophy.
His subtle and realistic portrayal of a faded country music star struck both as a sympathetic and pathetic character. You cheer him on as he gets more breaks in his musical career and finds romance with a single mother. Then you can't help but condemn him as his battle with alcoholism takes a toll on his precarious career and his chance to find happiness with a love interest.
The film also has a good supporting cast with the ever reliable Maggie Gyllenhaal in a prominent role. Her portrayal of Jean, the single mother who hesitantly falls in love with Bad Blake is raw, exposed and quite convincing. Robert Duvall as his long time friend Wayne has always been a good character actor.
But I was quite surprised to find Colin Farrell was also in this film. He is cast as Tony Sweet, a former protege of Bad Blake but who has surpassed him in country music fame. Not only can he also sing quite well but you would totally forget he is a hot blooded Irish guy with a bad boy image. Heh!
The storyline is simple enough yet it tackles the effects of alcoholism and the difficult travails of a has been musician. I was equally surprised that Jeff Bridges can actually carry a tune, let alone sing entire songs. Songs which echo his harsh life and his long past loves. The kind of songs that really pull at the heartstrings. The kind of songs mostly identified with the country music genre. Songs which gave this film and its star Jeff Bridges a very soulful essence.
His subtle and realistic portrayal of a faded country music star struck both as a sympathetic and pathetic character. You cheer him on as he gets more breaks in his musical career and finds romance with a single mother. Then you can't help but condemn him as his battle with alcoholism takes a toll on his precarious career and his chance to find happiness with a love interest.
The film also has a good supporting cast with the ever reliable Maggie Gyllenhaal in a prominent role. Her portrayal of Jean, the single mother who hesitantly falls in love with Bad Blake is raw, exposed and quite convincing. Robert Duvall as his long time friend Wayne has always been a good character actor.
But I was quite surprised to find Colin Farrell was also in this film. He is cast as Tony Sweet, a former protege of Bad Blake but who has surpassed him in country music fame. Not only can he also sing quite well but you would totally forget he is a hot blooded Irish guy with a bad boy image. Heh!
The storyline is simple enough yet it tackles the effects of alcoholism and the difficult travails of a has been musician. I was equally surprised that Jeff Bridges can actually carry a tune, let alone sing entire songs. Songs which echo his harsh life and his long past loves. The kind of songs that really pull at the heartstrings. The kind of songs mostly identified with the country music genre. Songs which gave this film and its star Jeff Bridges a very soulful essence.
No comments:
Post a Comment