Two pianist brothers (real-life brothers Jeff Bridges and Beau Bridges) hire a female singer named Susie Diamond (Michelle Pfeiffer) to pep up their act. This decision revives their fortunes but introduces complications when romantic feelings develop between Susie and one of the brothers.
It’s a well-written film with plenty of humour and intelligence.
Like most Streisand films, it’s a rich source of material for anyone wishing to psychoanalyse her. There’s lots about her childhood, her relationships with her parents (Lauren Bacall plays Rose’s stern mother), and her body image.
It’s flawed but fairly entertaining – especially if you’re already a Babs fan.
Jeff Bridges is a widowed college professor who begins investigating his suspicious neighbours (Tim Robbins and Joan Cusack), who appear to be mixed up in a terrorist plot. It’s tense and fairly gripping but sadly goes completely off the rails towards the end. Once the big twist is revealed, very little of the story seems credible. There are simply too many coincidences and assumptions for things to have worked out the way Tim Robbins’ character planned. I felt cheated and quite angry.
It’s a shame, because there are lots of good things about the film. Bridges is compelling and as watchable as always. There is an excellent jump scare, brilliantly framed. And I like Hope Davis, as the professor’s former graduate student.
Thriller.
Ex-IRA soldier and expert bomb-maker Ryan Gaerity (Tommy Lee Jones) escapes from prison in Northern Ireland. He travels to Boston to seek revenge on his former colleague Lieutenant James “Jimmy” Dove (Jeff Bridges), who is now a hero in the bomb-disposal unit. But Dove is also ex-IRA and the secrets of his past threaten to destroy both his career and his marriage.
Directed by Stephen Hopkins, this is a fairly average thriller with some exciting moments. Every time Jimmy has to defuse a bomb that’s about to go off, the tension increases considerably. Bridges has a certain charm, as does Forest Whitaker as Officer Anthony Franklin. But Dove’s wife Kate (Suzy Amis) and uncle Max (Lloyd Bridges) are less well drawn as characters and threaten to tip it into B-movie territory.
It’s a touching romance that never gives in to mere sentimentality. The two leads are remarkable, with a very real chemistry. The music is excellent, too. Bridges seems every bit the grizzled country singer. You can truly believe him, whether he’s at his public best on stage or at his private nadir, passing out drunk in his hotel room.
There are parallels with A Star Is Born, and particularly the Streisand/Kristofferson version from 1976, but Crazy Heart seems like a more credible attempt to present a fading performer in a desperate situation.
Russell Crowe plays a Washington Globe journalist investigating a series of deaths that are linked to his friend, a congressman (Ben Affleck).
It’s an exciting drama that touches on a lot of themes. There’s political and corporate corruption. There’s also a celebration of old-school news reporting, with a nice platonic relationship between the experienced journalist and the young recruit (Rachel McAdams), who represents the world of blogs and digital news.
Crowe is as good as ever, but all of the main actors are excellent. Helen Mirren is the tough newspaper boss who is to Crowe what Judi Dench’s M was to Daniel Craig’s James Bond. Jeff Daniels is a Congressman with secrets. Robin Wright plays the politician’s wife, who has a “history” with Crowe.
Director Kevin Macdonald had previously made films about mountaineering disaster, Mick Jagger and the 1972 Munich Olympics, and you can see a certain documentary style applied to this fiction too.
Only the generic, interchangeable title lets it down.
There are too many actors. None of them have much to do but they all look a little too pleased with themselves for being in a film with Bob Dylan. As usual, John Goodman plays an annoying fat crook. I find him unbearable – exactly the same persona in every role. Jeff Bridges plays a journalist and Penélope Cruz is his strange girlfriend. These characters have the annoying names Uncle Sweetheart, Tom Friend and Pagan Lace.
The all-star cast also includes Jessica Lange, Luke Wilson, Val Kilmer, Chris Penn, Mickey Rourke and Christian Slater. It’s remarkable that you end up not caring about a single character, as none of them are remotely developed. They are all merely mouthpieces for self-consciously cryptic speeches and pseudo-profound utterances that add up to very little. Even Bob Dylan gets annoying, and he was the only reason I watched the film. Yes, he’s enigmatic and charismatic – he can’t be anything else – but nothing is ever done with those qualities.
The music is the most interesting element: Dylan performs a few songs “live” within the film and every other song featured on the soundtrack was written by him but performed by another musician.
The political angle is another missed opportunity. We learn that totalitarianism is bad.
I found it difficult to get to the end, but I ploughed on out of misplaced loyalty to Bob.
