In writing about “Crazy Heart,” many critics have focused on Jeff Bridges’ grand performance. Bridges does give a great performance and many expect him to win the gold. Mr. Bridges portrays Bad Blake, a struggling country singer who survives off of what his name used to mean. Blake lives off the money he earns from small shows at bowling alleys and bars after once serving as a mentor to another artist who has made it big.

Near the beginning of the film, Blake is interviewed by an aspiring journalist (Maggie Gyllenhaal), anxious to learn more about the singer.  The film develops from there as Blake, the loner, begins a relationship with the younger woman. As that relationship builds, he’s given a chance to change his life and decide what kind of person he wants to be. Does he want to continue to hold a grudge against his fellow singer who succeeded and left him in the past? Or does he want to continue moving along playing show after show without finding something or someone worth settling down for?

Though he’s never won, Mr. Bridges has already been nominated for an Oscar four times. Although I haven’t seen all of his past nominated films, I have seen the last one: “The Contender,” a great film where Bridges plays a buttoned-up President of the United States looking for a person to nominate as vice president. It’s a testament to Bridges’ acting abilities that in “The Contender” he plays a strong man with high ideals and in “Crazy Heart” he’s a suffering man with no idea where his life may be headed. He excels in both.

In addition to Bridges, there’s a fine performance by Ms. Gyllenhaal. Gyllenhaal, who has appeared as overconfident in some of her earlier movies, has a quieter role here. She shows believable vulnerability as a single mother who does not want to have her heart broken by a washed-up country singer. Also, in a very small role, Robert Duvall delivers a strong performance as a friend of Bad Blake’s.

In addition to the strong performances, I really enjoyed the story. One of the best things about the plot is that the movie has an ability to surprise by not going in the direction viewers might think. For instance, at one point we learn something about Blake’s family life and the audience expects that revelation to force the movie to bring us to a scene of reconciliation. Instead of that cliche, we get a quiet more realistic scene between Blake and the Duvall character on a boat that resolves the situation in a subtle but poignant way.

That short scene is actually one of the best in the film.

“Crazy Heart” is a great film with a lot of strong attributes. In addition to the performances and surprises, the music is fantastic. There’s a lot to love about this movie and it’s worthy of Academy recognition.

In director Scott Cooper’s “Crazy Heart,” Jeff Bridges plays Bad Blake, a creatively-stifled, self-destructive former country music star drowning himself in whiskey and self-pity before finding a second chance in the love of a woman and her four year-old son. If the story sounds familiar, it should. In 1983, star Robert Duvall and screenwriter Horton Foote won well-deserved Oscars for their poetic, understated work telling almost the exact same story in “Tender Mercies.”  You won’t mind, though, because both “Crazy Heart” and Jeff Bridges are nearly as good. And if some kind of loyalty to The Mighty Duvall makes you resistant to checking out this near-retelling, fear not. He’s not only on board as a producer but brings great color and character to a supporting role, as well. He even sings a bit!

“Crazy Heart” defines the idea of a simple story well told. One glimpse at the trailer and we all know where the plot beats will lead, at least through the second act. We know that Bad Blake and small town reporter Jean Craddock (Maggie Gyllenhaal) will fall in love and that this is certain to bring about some kind of personal and professional reformation for the has-been booze hound. What we don’t know is “how” that story will be told or where it will end up, and it’s in the telling that “Crazy Heart” soars.

The performances are uniformly excellent. As a mother who’s uncompromising when it comes to the well-being of her son, this is the first time I’ve liked Gyllenhaal in anything, and Colin Farrell is nothing short of superb as country superstar Tommy Sweet, a genuinely decent man confident in his success, but as Blake’s one time protégé, understandably uncomfortable overshadowing his former mentor. The complicated, prickly but still affectionate relationship between these two men is a small but exceptionally well done subplot that eventually pays off handsomely.

As Blake, a gruff bear of a man with an unruly beard and unattractive beer gut who only comes alive when yelling at his agent over a life spent travelling the dusty highways of the Southwest from one lousy gig to the next, Bridges has lost none of his effortless charm and still smokes a cigarette like a Fabulous Baker Boy. Thanks to a great piece of writing, Blake’s also a character whose layers never stop revealing themselves. And thanks to a performance likely to win the actor some long overdue recognition from the Motion Picture Academy, this character – in both good ways and bad – never stops surprising.  

Bridges and Ferrell both sing their own songs – all of which are excellent and written by Stephen Bruton and T-Bone Burnett. The real star of “Crazy Heart,” however, is a lyrical screenplay adapted from a novel of the same name by the film’s director. Each scene flows effortlessly, one into the next and never once falls into the many clichéd traps of this genre.

The one leap of faith the story requires you to make is how quickly Bad and Jean get together. He’s a 57 year-old alcoholic wreck and she’s a thirty-something divorcee single mother. Had she held out a little longer it wouldn’t have upset the structure of the narrative in the least and would’ve gone a long way towards helping us to buy into what she saw in him had he been forced to show a little persistence.

As the motion picture business moves further and further away from mature stories involving Christianity, it should come as no surprise to learn that “Crazy Heart” can best be described as a secular re-telling of “Tender Mercies.” That’s not a knock, though, just a fact. Whatever’s missing in the area of spirituality is more than made up for through the humanity of the characters and how invested we are in Bad’s search for his own dignity.

Where “Crazy Heart” gets it just as right as its predecessor, is where it counts most, in the closing scene. Twenty-five years and a dozen-plus viewings haven’t dimmed the emotional impact of “Tender Mercies” in the least, especially those touching final moments.  To this day just the thought of Duvall’s Mac Sledge and that young boy tossing a football  – the quiet power of it all and how it catches up to you long after the credits roll, still manages to move me. And it’s the same with Bad Blake. The magnitude of where this character ends up is performed and presented with a touching subtlety that gives “Crazy Heart’s” final moments an unforgettable grace note.

Directed by the very gifted Sam Mendes, (American Beauty and Road to Perdition are two personal favorites) “Away We Go” obviously wasn’t designed to portray our friends on the left as utterly dysfunctional and clueless, but never will you see a more unsympathetic bunch of self-involved, navel gazers. And not just the supporting characters, some of whom are supposed to be unlikable (I think), but also the leads, Burt (John Krasinski) and Verona (Maya Rudolph), two self-proclaimed 34 year-old, unmarried “fuck ups” who discover they’re about to have a baby. In their defense, they are a committed couple (he wants marriage, she refuses), so committed that when she laments the coming weight gain, he reassures, “I will love you even if I can’t find your vagina.”

Verona’s a medical artist of some sort and Burt sells insurance over the phone, verbally morphing into one of those, “How ‘bout those Bruins?” Regular Guys to win over clients (which drives Verona crazy). Both look and dress like they stepped out of 1974 and live in a ramshackle house with an electrical system unable to handle a space heater. They live there for no other reason than to be close to Burt’s parents, a self-absorbed, well-to-do couple played by Jeff Daniels and Catherine O’Hara. They’re the type who believe the meaningless act of spending thousands of dollars on statues “to honor Native Americans” somehow makes up for the selfish bastards they really are. Everything is always about them and in pursuit of what they want both are more than willing to hurt their own son through the death of a thousand slights. Instead of being grandparents, they will be moving to Belgium.

Wanting to raise their child and plant roots near someone, anyone, Burt and Verona hit the road on a cross-country planes, trains, and automobile odyssey hoping to find a new home through a reconnection with friends and loved ones. Phoenix is stop number one, home to Verona’s former boss Lily (Allison Janey) and her sad, odd, dysfunctional family. Lily’s gift is living in the belief no one can hear her talk, even though they can. She goes on and on about her boobs and laughs over how her (within earshot) daughter might be a “dyke.” Not surprisingly, Burt and Verona press on.

Next stop Madison, Wisconsin, where Maggie Gyllenhaal plays Burt’s childhood friend, LN (pronounced “Ellen”). She teaches at the university, breast feeds her four-year old son and lives in a hippie pagan heaven where everyone shares a “family bed” because it’s good for the kids to watch mommy and daddy make love. In the film’s best moment, Burt and Verona finally show some sand, hilariously rebelling against this diseased, oppressive environment.

There are a few more stops but you get the picture. With an intentionally quirky soundtrack and irreverent tone, “Away We Go” feels more Wes Anderson than Sam Mendes. The pace is smooth, the scenery’s nice and my curiosity over where Burt and Verona would finally end up never waned. Sure, I liked them well enough, but could never respect them.

Other than Gyllenhaal’s LN, who should be jailed for raising likely serial killers, the characters are each rewarded with youth, health, children, employment, and an upper middle-class lifestyle, and while some have seen emotionally difficult times (miscarriage, divorce), all seem the type to forever focus on what they want, what they don’t have and the way things should be, instead of the many, many blessings within reach. We all want things better, we all lug a bag of regrets and hurts and desires around, but these are people who can’t be happy with almost everything, which means they’ll never be happy, and that’s hard to sympathize with and relate to. 

For that reason, the script, written by Dave Eggers and Vendela Vida, is nowhere near as profound as it thinks it is. At heart, the story’s meaningless and the themes as shallow as a parking lot rain puddle. Burt loves Verona, Verona loves Burt, they live in America, are going to have a a baby and make enough money doing very little work to afford a cross-country journey of self-discovery. Yeah, his parents are selfish pleasure seekers and hers are dead, but everyone plays a little hurt and no one respects those who endlessly go on about it. ”Entitlement” simply isn’t a theme.

That doesn’t mean the pointless journey of two 34 year-old “fuck ups” is an unpleasant one, but I just found myself laughing ”at” them and theirs more than I was probably supposed to. Though I shouldn’t have. After all, we all have liberal friends and family members we love and respect, and this kind of stereotyping is completely uncalled for … though not unamusing.

Creepy, right? I have not seen Haunting and will probably wait for DVD or pay cable, but that is a weird, startling, attention-grabbing image. As a movie junkie, I love good movie art. The best movie posters are evocative. They capture what a movie is all about without giving away the mystery. There are certain movie posters that instantly put me back in that theatre experiencing the film for the very first time. The best movie posters are not just promotional tools. They stand as a work of art on their own. These are my favorites, buit it is by no means a definitive list. Feel free to add your favorites (and subtract any of mine).

#1 – JAWS
I saw this all-time classic as a 9-year-old on opening day, and saw it a second time at the Saturday matinee. To this day, I am afraid to swim in the ocean. That shark is always there in my imagination. The poster is literal, but haunting.

#2 – CHINATOWN
This is truly a work of art. The smoke shrouding the ultimate mystery of Evelyn Mulwray, and the stylized version of Jake Gittes (played by Jack Nicholson), the hard-boiled detective who unravels it all.

#3 – THE DARK KNIGHT
Impossible to separate Heath Ledger’s death from his remarkable interpretation of The Joker. This is an amazing image. In 30 years, I will look at this poster and immediately feel the impact of Christopher Nolan’s masterpiece.

#4 – BREAKFAST AT TIFFANY’S
You can almost hear Audrey Hepburn warbling “Moon River” at the sight of this iconic poster. Every woman wanted to be her and every man wanted to be with her.

#5 – SECRETARY
The 2002 cult classic about a sadomasochistic relationship between a demanding lawyer (James Spader) and a submissive secretary (Maggie Gyllenhaal). The movie is an under-appreciated gem. The poster may be even better.

#6 – UNFORGIVEN
This is my favorite poster made for Clint Eastwood’s masterful revisionist Western. Simple. Classic. Tells you everything you need to know about Clint’s Bill Munny character.

#7 – AMERICAN BEAUTY
A beautiful image that suggests the perversity that lies just beneath the surface of the suburban neighborhood created by screenwriter Alan Ball and director Sam Mendes.

#8 – SILENCE OF THE LAMBS
“You will let me know when those lambs stop screaming, won’t you?” You can almost hear Dr. Hannibal Lecter say it. The Death’s-head moth “lodged” in Clarice Starling’s throat. Brilliant image.

#9 – VERTIGO
An ode to acrophobia as Detective Scottie Ferguson (as played by Jimmy Stewart) battles his fear of heights while becoming obsessed with Madeleine Elster (the stunning Kim Novak). This kaleidoscopic design immediately brings the strains of Bernard Hermann’s amazing score into my head.

#10 – PULP FICTION
Uma Thurman as Mia Wallace in all her swagger. Yes, she does wind up with a sharpie circle on her chest and a shot of adrenaline, but the whole gritty movie is captured with this image.

HONORABLE MENTION
- in no particular order -
A CLOCKWORK ORANGE
SWEENEY TODD
MEAN STREETS
AMADEUS
GONE WITH THE WIND
METROPOLIS
KING KONG (1939 Fay Wray version)
CLOVERFIELD
THE SEVEN YEAR ITCH
2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY

Steve Mason is on Facebook and now also on Twitter@LAMase.