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"I knew what the risks were with you, and I took them....."

Crazy Heart

An Illusion Review by Joan Ellis


 

            Country music star Bad Blake (Jeff Bridges) is 57 years old, broke, and addicted to alcohol and nicotine. With an odd combination of arrogance and humility, Bad understands how far he has fallen. This mess of a man is not a pretty picture, but right from the beginning there is a kindness about him that allows us to be charmed. That is Jeff Bridges' gift to audiences.

            The only light in Bad's life is the open road he travels between gigs in bars and bowling alleys. Otherwise he lives in the oppressive darks of motels and bars. He's been married to four different versions of the wrong woman though we know surely that he was the wrong man for all of them. On one particularly gloomy day, Jean Craddock (Maggie Gyllenhaal), niece of the piano player, appears at his door. She has come as an aspiring journalist to interview the former country star. As we watch mutual attraction bubble up, we think at first, 'oh no, not the drunk and the innocent thing again,' but that reaction vanishes quickly in the hands of these two magnetic performers. If Jean is too quick to understand and accept the man behind the bottle and the butts, Maggie Gyllenhaal's quirky, astute performance erases our doubts in short order.

            Bad is a foul mouthed, slovenly symbol of his various addictions. He drives with his belt and fly undone so his belly can hang comfortably; he tosses empty bottles into the air of his motel room This is a man who reeks, looks awful in his stained clothes, and lives in the soul crushing darkness of alcohol and failure; but Jeff Bridges lets Jean know there is something good at his core, and that goes a long way for a girl trying to bust out of the limitations of her life. She is on board.

            The tone of the movie, set by the two principals, is sustained by other actors who give fine performances in small parts - Robert Duvall, Tom Bower, Colin Farrell, and an endearing Jack Nation as Jean's young son. Bad's admission that, "I've been drunk all my life," is a tough starting point for negotiation with Buddy's mom. "I knew what the risks were with you and I took them. I don't know that I'll ever get over that." When possible redemption looms, neither Bad nor we know whether it's just too late.

Together, Bridges and Gyllenhaal rescue the story from being an ordinary booze tale, but Bridges alone creates the memorable singing nomad. He writes, sings, and plays songs in an appealing, relaxed old country way because country guitar is a passion in his real life. This movie belongs to the man and his music simply because he seems authentic and thoroughly comfortable in the role. The studio tagline, "The harder the life, the sweeter the song" never seemed more true than when Jeff Bridges takes us there.

 

 


 

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It is an artful maze.

The Last Station

An Illusion Review by Joan Ellis


 

            When writer/director Michael Hoffman decided to tackle the expansive subject of Leo Tolstoy in "The Last Station," he had the great good sense to narrow the parameters. Instead of surrendering to the temptation to hit the high spots, Hoffman zeros in on 1910 when Tolstoy (Christopher Plummer) and his wife Sofya (Helen Mirren) fell into a devastating argument that shattered their marriage after 48 years.

            By 1910 Sofya had borne 13 children and had copied War and Peace by hand six times, so when it came to discussions of the life decisions Tolstoy was considering, she felt entitled to be a strong voice in the process. With his major novels behind him, Tolstoy was moving toward the spiritual side of his life by embarking on a movement devoted to celibacy, communal property, anti-materialism, and social justice. "I hate what you've become," she cries. How much of this came from Tolstoy himself and how much from his disciple, Vladimir Chertkov (Paul Giamatti) is unclear. But Sofya, certain that Chertkov is manipulating her husband, makes him her enemy. "You are a genius," she tells her husband, "He (Chertkov) is a sycophant and a pervert."

            At Chertkov's behest, Valentin Bulgakov (James McAvoy) becomes Tolstoy's secretary. Chertkov wants the rights to all of Tolstoy's work to go to the public domain. Sofya, wants everything to stay within the family - "Count Generosity" is about to give away everything we own." We watch steaming arguments between husband and wife over whether Chertkov is engineering a new will - he is, of course. "You don't need a husband; you need a Greek chorus," he howls at her." When Tolstoy can stand no more of his wife's rage and accusations, he leaves with his daughter Sasha (Ann Marie Duff) on a railroad journey that ends at the last station.

            Helen Mirren sizzles as Sofya, a wife in every way a match for her brilliant husband. Christopher Plummer is wonderfully subtle in creating a Tolstoy who is thoroughly believable as an avatar of greatness. Together, they do a sublime scene that is awash in laughter and love that lifts them, for this moment, out of their anger. I can't think of other actors who could have made this scene what it is.

            Paul Giamatti's Chertkov is a grand manipulator, James McAvoy's Valentin a believable and idealistic disciple. A spirited Kerry Condon is the love interest who sees the man Valentin can become. Poor Valentin. The young man has been ordered by Chertkov to spy on Sofya and by Sofya to spy on Chertkov. It is an artful maze.

            "What I have done is leave earthly things behind to spend my last days in peace," Tolstoy says of his plan. Of his earthly things, his novels are his legacy. Of the peace he sought - I don't think so, not when the woman who loves you is the likes of Sofya.

 

 



HUNTING VIDEOS
 

When you stand clueless in the video store, try these.  They won’t insult your intelligence. 

 


To Feed a Kooky Sense of Humor
 

Off the Map

Black Cat, White Cat

Big Fish

The Dish

 

Light and Good 

About a Boy

Along Came Polly

As Good As it Gets

Being Julia

Calendar Girls

Enchanted April

In Good Company

Miss Congeniality

My Wife is an Actress

 

Real Events 

13 Days

Shattered Glass

 

The Whole Family 

Billy Elliot

De-Lovely

Gosford Park

Hidalgo

Holes

Pirates of the Carribbean

Rookie

Seabiscuit

Sweet Home Alabama

The Emperor’s Club

Tuck Everlasting

 

Adventure 

Master and Commander

The Bourne Conspiracy

The Edge

The Italian Job

Touching the Void

 


Action
 

Collateral

Day After Tomorrow

   

Drama 

About Schmidt

Afterglow

Closer

Croupier

Don Juan in Hell

Field of Dreams

Frida

Garden of the Finzi-Continis

Gloomy Sunday

House of  Sand and Fog

Last Orders

Legend of Bagger Vance

Map of the World

Million Dollar Baby

Nowhere in Africa

Possession

Rabbit Proof Fence

Songcatcher

Storytelling

Swimming pool

The Deep End

The Natural

The Quiet American

The Talented Mr. Ripley

Unfaithful

When Brendan Met Trudy

Widow of St. Pierre

Invasion of the Barbarians

 

Documentary 

Bowling for Columbine

Fog of War

My Architect

Supersize Me

The Control Room

 

For History Nuts 

Blind Spot