I've been reluctant to see this since it came out over a year ago. I've always liked Jeff Bridges and believe he won the Oscar for this film due to his large body of work in the industry rather than for this one particular performance. He was very good but I'm not convinced that he would have been nominated if he weren't Jeff Bridges.
The reason for my reluctance is that this film is very much a remake of Tender Mercies from 1983 in which Robert Duvall won an Oscar as did Horton Foote, the screenwriter.
Tender Mercies is a great film. Crazy Heart is only a good film.
Bridges gives a very believable and human performance but the remainder of the story doesn't provide much support. For instance, his main love interest in this film is Maggie Gyllenhaal's character, Jean. Not only is she 28 years younger than Bridges but their supposed connection was never brought to life on screen.
So, yes, this is a nice film but if you're really interested in the country singer soul resurrection story, I would have to point you in the direction of Tender Mercies first and foremost...
