Jeff Bridges has become one of my favorites. Jeff Bridges and Maggie Gyllenhaal? An unlikely, sort of icky pair. Out of that juxtaposition is born a beautifully constructed tale of a nearly washed up country singer in a totally mismatched love affair. Emotional growth begets personal and professional growth. Throughout the movie I wondered about the casting, but once the film had ended I felt I understood the contrast as a function of the story rather than just a strangely disgusting old man/young woman romance. And Colin Farrell, again, what the frick. He blew me away with his performance, mostly because I have zero expectation of him doing anything but being a douche, but he added a different dimension and he could have reached brilliant had it not been for his freakishly feminine earrings. The spanning scenery, the subtle touches that Jeff brought to the character -- check out when he gets out of the car, his belt is always unbuckled -- and the music; it might as well have been old country standards. Wonderful.
I read a completely opposite review. Well actually I can't remember if they panned the entire movie or just Jeff Bridges performance. I didn't want to see it but then I watched the trailer and was like, this looks awesome! So now you've convinced me ;)
ReplyDeleteI really knew absolutely nothing about this movie when I went to see it. While the acting was pretty outstanding, when it boils down to it, it felt like just another movie about a washed up alcoholic musician. The surprising twist for me was when he actually cleaned himself up. I did enjoy watching it and the story was touching, but I would have preferred to rent!
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