By David Vicari
*** out of four

Crazy Heart has a passing resemblance to one of my favorite movies, Tender Mercies (1983). Incidentally, that film’s star, Robert Duvall, has a small role here and also serves as a producer. Anyway, I guess I’m a sucker for movies about broken down has-beens. Crazy Heart doesn’t bring anything new to the genre—in fact it’s a fairly predictable tale of redemption. It’s the first-rate performances, however, that sell it. Jeff Bridges stars as Bad Blake, an aging, alcoholic, down-on-his-luck country & western singer. He has a strained relationship with his now superstar-famous younger protégé (Colin Farrell), and barely scrapes by performing at rundown, out-of-the-way dives. It’s an encounter with a pretty, young reporter (Maggie Gyllenhaal) that reinvigorates Blake, but can he change his stubborn ways? Now, it doesn’t hold any dramatic surprises, and the final act feels a bit rushed, but director Scott Cooper’s film, based on Thomas Cobb’s novel, is a laid back, confidently made little drama. Bridges’ performance, in particular, feels so authentic that while watching the film I could almost smell the booze on his breath.