BEFORE: Robert Duvall (in a small part here) carries over from last night's film, as does the theme of an aging country singer - plus both films won the Oscar for Best Actor. Yes, I've been planning this linkage for a while...
THE PLOT: A faded country music musician is forced to reassess his dysfunctional life during a doomed romance that also inspires him.
AFTER: Who knew that Jeff Bridges would someday resemble a paunchy version of Kris Kristofferson? I found this to be something of a mix of elements from "Tender Mercies" and "A Star Is Born" (minus Streisand, of course). Again we've got an aging, hard-drinkin' country music man, with an estranged child and a history of failed marriage(s) - but he's still performing and writing songs, and (eventually...) trying to get himself clean and sober to deserve the love of a younger woman.
But then the movie takes a bit of a left turn - Bad Blake (Jeff Bridges, last seen in "The Men Who Stare at Goats") has a pupil/rival - Tommy Sweet, who seems to have surpassed his mentor in popularity, but still feels like he is indebted to him. The love/hate relationship/rivalry between them is very intriguing.
The songs here are quite good - who knew that Irishman Colin Farrell could speak and sing with a country accent? But I don't really see what all the fuss was over "The Weary Kind", which won the Oscar for Best Original Song - I thought others like "Fallin' & Flyin'" and "Somebody Else" were better. ("I used to be somebody...Now I'm somebody else" - classic C&W, and quite relevant to the theme of the movie.)
"Fallin' & Flyin'" is also a great, perhaps inadvertent metaphor. Because if you think about it, you can't fly without falling, and vice versa - and until you hit the ground, you might not be sure which you're doing.
It's somewhat refreshing to see the life of a semi-famous singer portrayed with some very accessible elements. Like any other job, if you show up, work hard and stay sober, with a little luck things might start to go your way - but really, all you've achieved might be the right to wake up the next day and do it all again. You deal with your addictions and any emergencies the best you can, and if you're lucky, you find friends and family will help get you through it. Inspiring in its own way, and the first solid win of the year.
Also starring Maggie Gyllenhaal (last seen in "Stranger Than Fiction")
RATING: 7 out of 10 flaky biscuits
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