5* Review By James R. Holland

Surprise, surprise, both Jeff Bridges and Colin Farrell can actually sing! And they are pretty good at it. That was the most remarkable thing about this nostalgic look at Country Western music in today’s Southwestern United States. The story centers on the Jeff Bridges character of Bad Blake, an aging, alcoholic Country Western singer-song writing legend in the twilight of his career. He spends most of his time driving from one gig to another across the beautiful desert country of what was once known as the Wild West. He is almost sixty, unkempt, appears not to have washed his long hair in at least a month or more, is constantly drinking, and spends most of his time talking to himself during the long hours on the road.

This Country Western song-come-to-life is a moral tale of redemption and second chances. While performing with what he jokingly calls some young hippies as his backup band in a fancy bowling alley in Pueblo, Colorado, the broken-down cowboy is interviewed by a young woman reporter half his age. Jean, played by Maggie Gyllenhaal is a single mom with a four-year old son looking for love in all the wrong places while also trying to become a music reporter. The romantic sparks that fly between these two characters proves the theory that opposites attract. For Bad, this is his chance to redeem himself for having not seen his own twenty-something-year-old son since he was a four-year-old. For Jean, this is probably the triumph of hope over experience, but she is willing to give it a whirl. Maybe this time things will be different?

There is lot to be said for this motion picture. It reeks of realism. There don’t appear to be many professional actors in the movie. Bad’s audience is made up mostly of elderly senior citizens of the World War II baby generation most of whom are wearing desert cowboy hats to protect them from skin cancer. The locales are modern day honky-tonk roadhouses or today's equivalent, such as the fancy bowling alley with its live music bands. Bad’s music fans appear like they are all great grandparents. They come to hear the old tunes that Bad Blake has made famous over a long career and reminisce about their own youth. Listening to him sing his lonesome ballads brings mournful, but happy smiles to their faces. One of his well-preserved female Cougar fans tries to pick him up for dinner and a date after his show ends at 1 A.M.

While Bad’s alcoholism has caused his career to crash and burn, his young protégé, Tommy Sweet, played by Colin Farrell, has become famous singing some of his mentor’s original songs.  He travels the music circuit in a fleet of custom-fitted buses and a huge back-up crew. Tommy and Bad are not entirely comfortable with how their relationship has turned out. Colin hires his former mentor to open for him at a major venue of 12,000 of his much younger generation of country music fans. When they meet in the parking lot surrounded by Tommy’s fleet of buses and stage crew busily going about their business of setting up for the concert, the repressed conflict between them is obvious. Colin does an excellent job of under-playing that difficult role of a man who owes his career to his mentor, but feels guilty about how it has worked out or maybe how that came to be? The details of this situation aren’t detailed, but only hinted at. Tommy is also in need of new songs and he wants to see if Bad still has the ability to write such magic music. He finally awkwardly, nervously admits that is what he hopes Bad can help him with. He promises to pay top price for new music composed by his mentor. It’s obvious that both men still need each other even though when they meet face to face, they metaphorically circle each other like two wary wrestlers sizing up their opponent.

This is an excellent film for adults. Robert Duvall plays one of Bad’s long-time true friends who over the years has attempted to save his friend from himself. The texture of this movie is palpable. Scott Cooper’s script writing and directing brings out the best in his cast including all the local members of the community used as extras. Jeff Bridges actually becomes the character Bad Blake in this motion picture. In the picture’s many close-ups of Blake the audience is going to be struck by a feeling that they are not seeing Jeff Bridges, but are looking at a close-up of Kenny Rogers, Kris Kristofferson or perhaps even Willie Nelson? Maybe it’s just the salt and pepper hair and untrimmed grey beards and rugged, weather-harden looks, but it’s there and the audience will experience the same surprising feeling?

The music written by T-Bone Burnett is perfect for the film. The only very minor flaw in the film that caught this reviewer’s attention was that in some of the panoramic scenes of Bad Blake driving through some spectacle scenery, it appeared that the towering volcanic formations were slightly fuzzy—as if they had been filmed with a low quality digital camera or a telephoto lens that focused on the car while the background went slightly soft or out of focus. For a film with ultra-sharp images throughout (the audience will see every scar, pore and skin imperfection), this particular phenomenon was puzzling but most people will probably never notice it. Despite this very minor technical problem, the film is definitely an engaging look at the world of honky-tonk in transition. This is definitely a keeper. The audience will never again see Jeff Bridges in quite the same way. When they do see him they will probably subconsciously hear him singing and playing honky-tonk songs in the background?

James R. Holland is a film editor, producer, and author--most recently of Adventure Photographer (A Bit of Boston Books/ 2009).  He reviews movies exclusively for Basil & Spice.  Visit James R. Holland's Writer's Page.

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