Secret Agent Gal Movie Reviews

Mademoiselle Chambon ****

 

As a construction worker and his son’s teacher begin to fall in love, the world around them shimmers.  Mademoiselle Chambon looks at our power to take risks and make choices that are life-defining.

Stephane Brize’s creation has been nominated for Best Foreign Film by the 2011 Spirit Awards (formerly the Independent Spirit Awards). Based on a novel by Eric Holder, it won a Cesar Award for Best Adapted Screenplay.

Vincent Lindon as Jean and Sandrine Kiberlain as Veronique seem happy enough in their routines.  One day she invites him to speak at his son’s class. Signs of quiet desperation begin to appear. So much is evoked in a long look, a nervous gesture, a broadening of the shoulders.  The pair’s acting is superb.

Rugged, blue-jean clad Jean is eloquent as he speaks to the class.  The children pepper him with questions: “What is the biggest house you ever built?” “Will the house last for a lifetime?”  Lindon conveys humility and dignity in this fanfare for the common man.

After the talk, Mlle. Chambon asks Jean about a drafty window in her apartment.  He volunteers to look at it for her.

Like the hollowbrick he uses, Jean’s life seems solid but holds an empty space inside.  He is satisfied. His earthy wife Anne Marie (Aure Atika) is pregnant. A caring mother to their son Jeremy (Arthur Le Houerou), she concocts delicious meals and works in a book factory.

While Anne Marie is likely to dismiss Jean’s ideas, Veronique really listens and shares them. What the teacher awakens in Jean is not only sexual, but an acknowledgement of his mind and gentle philosophy.  Later in the film he brings Veronique to a tree-covered bluff, his favorite place to think. Jean has never invited anyone else here.

 

Born of a wealthy family, Veronique is well-educated. As a traveling substitute teacher, she never stays in one place for more than a year.  Her intent search and ethereal quality reveal a woman who has chosen not to compromise. Lovely, quiet and serious, she seeks a man who is equally sensitive, intelligent and warm.

Jean washes the feet of his elderly father (expressive Jean-Marc Thibault) weekly.  Lindon is manly and tender here.  One day he accompanies his father to a funeral home. Matter-of-factly, the elder selects a casket similar to his wife’s. Jean is shown drinking alone later that day.

Veronique begins to dare more, removing a violin hidden in its case only at Jean’s request. Her music captivates Jean with her unexpressed feelings.  Reluctantly, she accepts an invitation to play at a birthday celebration for Jean’s father. 

Anne Marie looks on as Mlle. Chambon plays an Elgar sonata. Finally she understands Jean’s recent argumentative moodiness and withdrawal from her. Both Kiberlain and Atika  were nominated for Cesar Awards for their roles here.

Understated dramas like this showcase acting skills, as Lindon and Kiberlain create so much with so little. Still American audiences may chafe at Mademoiselle Chambon’s introspection.   

Antoine Heberle’s cinematography lingers on excruciating moments. In one mesmerizing scene Jean and Veronique sit in his car, wordless. The film’s climactic finale takes place at a train station.

Lindon has been hailed for his prolific filmography.  Recently he starred in the sensitive Welcome (2009) and the crime drama Pour Elle (2007).  Kiberlain is known for Alias Betty (2001) and The Apartment (1996).

If you like Mademoiselle Chambon, you might enjoy: I Am Love; Wild Grass; An Education; Welcome.

Mademoiselle Chambon   2009  /  NR  /  1 hour, 36 min

Cast Overview:   Vincent Lindon, Sandrine Kiberlain, Aure Atika, Jean-Marc Thibault, Arthur Le Houerou, Bruno Lochet, Abdellah Moundy, Michelle Goddet

Director:  Stephane Brize

Genres:  Foreign, Drama, Romance

Language:  French with English subtitles

Two Lovers *****

 

Joaquin Phoenix and Gwyneth Paltrow reinvent the classic love triangle in Two Lovers. James Gray’s film showcases three flawed humans who each insist that they deserve love.

The film revolves around Leonard (Phoenix), a sensitive, bipolar man struggling to recreate his life after a failed relationship and suicide attempt. Paltrow is Michelle, a stunning new neighbor who lives a double life as a “kept” woman. Vinessa Shaw plays Sandra, a nice and sexy Jewish girl who insists that there are lots of men after her.

Phoenix’s can’t-look-away performance reveals an intense young man stuck for the time being in his adoptive parents’ Brighton Beach apartment.  By day he toils at his father’s dry cleaning business. He is the anonymous delivery man often seen on city streets, carrying freshly pressed clothes on hangars that proclaim “We Love Our Customers.”

The film opens as Phoenix jumps off a bridge one day, dry cleaning in hand. For an eternity he sinks downward. He sees his deceased mother who delivers a message. Changing his mind, he rises to safety.

Phoenix’s past is eclipsed by the present moment. He takes advantage of opportunities, whether it’s with the daughter of houseguests (Sandra), or with the flustered Michelle, trapped in the hallway when he first meets her.  Leonard is determined to create a life worth living. Love will be part of that life.

Sophisticated and troubled Michelle leans on Leonard as a confidante, turning away his declarations of love. Her affair with a married lawyer who won’t leave his wife upsets Leonard more than it does her.  The film’s macabre humor lightens its heaviness, for example when Michelle and her lover (Elias Koteas) invite Leonard to dinner at a swank Manhattan restaurant.

Sandra on the other hand says she understands Leonard. She knows his history.  “I want to take care of you,” she tells him.

Isabella Rossellini plays a Jewish mom who doubles as matchmaker. She loves and smothers Leonard, hovering outside his bedroom door to eavesdrop.  Moni Moshonov plays his pop. Leonard’s adventures include sneaking out of the apartment to console weeping Michelle on the roof, and engaging in a man-to-man sit down with Sandra’s father (Bob Ari) who asks him point-blank, “Are you a f*** up?”

Phoenix’s passion for music brightens the story. Leonard comes to life as he dances to rap at a nightclub. In another scene, he really listens to opera for the first time in his life. Just then Sandra knocks on his door.

 

Two Lovers’ conclusion is primal.  Thirty-something Leonard decides to run away from home.  His dilemma all along has been whether to remain rooted with his family with a secure but monotonous future, or to embrace excitement and escape.

Gray penned Two Lovers' excellent screenplay with Richard Menello.

If you like Two Lovers, you might enjoy:  Blue Valentine; Crazy Heart; The Town.

Two Lovers   2008  /  R  /   1 hour, 50 min

Cast Overview:  Joaquin Phoenix, Gwyneth Paltrow, Vinessa Shaw, Isabella Rossellini, Elias Koteas, Moni Moshonov, John Ortiz

Director: James Gray

Genres:  Drama, Romance

35 Shots of Rum ****

 

The camera lingers on father and daughter, revealing expression, movement, serenity and turmoil. On the edge of Paris, life unfolds within and around them.  Other characters emerge.

Claire Denis’ 35 Shots of Rum is poetry on film: rich, reflective, filled with insight. It's an experience of the intimate relationships we have with others and with ourselves. 

Lionel (emotive Alex Descas) and Jo (tender Mati Diop) live together in an apartment on the edge of Paris. Without speaking, each can hear the other. They know each other’s thoughts and needs. Jo buys herself a rice cooker adorned with pink flowers one day.  When she returns home, she finds that Lionel has bought her a larger, bright red pot. Jo ruminates, keeps her pot hidden on a shelf.

Lionel and Jo are French Africans who have lived like this for 20 years since her mother died.  Lionel is Jo’s father.  They are together, but like a fall leaves pressed into a scrapbook, delicately crumble apart.  Within their quiet joy, sadness lives.

Gabrielle (Nicole Dogue) is Lionel’s former lover, a chain-smoking cab driver who lives in the same apartment building. She still loves Lionel, her eyes tell us.  Noe (Gregoire Colin) is another neighbor, a friend and jogging partner of Jo’s. Noe’s eyes and boyish stunts reveal his secret love.

Lionel is the pivotal character in 35 Shots of Rum.  As he drives a train over Paris tracks, we see the world from his viewpoint. Neighborhoods go by.  The sun moves across the sky.  When Lionel’s friend Rene (Julieth Mars Toussaint) retires, he and the other drivers gather at a local café.    

Rene’s retirement is like a prophecy.  Visiting Lionel in the engineer’s cabin one day, Rene shares what he has learned.  “When it’s over it’s over,” he says. “You have to leave. A clean break . . . it’s better.”

Lionel begins to accept the inevitable.  When Jo is ready to move away, “just feel free,” he tells her.  Denis captures the mystery of their gently erotic, familiar relationship. Jo does not want to leave – yet. Lionel is quietly terrified.

Jo studies by day and works in a music shop at night.  In class, she speaks out about international human rights in a way that reveals her own budding independence.  While her classmates bemoan the domination of North over South, Jo can see that the opposite poles are part of one whole.

 
 

Clumsily, separation begins. Gabrielle and Lionel accompany Jo and Noe to a concert. Jo seems barely interested in Noe, preferring to dance with her father as they are stranded in a café after Gabrielle’s cab breaks down.  New beginnings can be this tentative and awkward.

Noe threatens to move away.  Jo must acknowledge her feelings for him.  A father-daughter road trip to Germany follows. 

Here and throughout the film, The Tindersticks' poignant score add to Agnes Godard’s cinematography. Lionel and Jo arrange flowers at her mother’s grave after visiting with Jo’s aunt. The old woman bemoans social fragmentation, yearning for the past.

In the final scene, Lionel downs 35 shots of rum at a special occasion.  Each drink changes him, making him even quieter, more thoughtful.  He pauses before each drink.  Tears glisten in his eyes.  His friends laugh around him.

If you like 35 Shots of Rum, you might enjoy: Wild Grass; Another Year; Mademoiselle Chambon.

35 Shots of Rum   2009  /  R  /  1 hour, 40 minutes

Cast Overview:  Alex Descas, Mati Diop, Gregoire Colin, Nicole Dogue

Director:  Claire Denis

Genres:  Drama

Language:  French and German with English subtitles

The Town ****1/2

 

Boston boy Ben Affleck writes, directs and acts in The Town, a neighborhood crime thriller that captures his gritty, realistic hometown.  Affleck brings together superb actors as he weaves romance into a bank robbery tale. The Town complements his 2007 Gone Baby Gone.

Nominated for Best Supporting Actor, Jeremy Renner continues his Hurt Locker intensity, adding muscle and ruthlessness to the robbery team led by Doug MacRay (Affleck). Renner plays Jem, Doug’s ex-con brother-in-crime.

Doug leads the group with some wisdom and restraint, buoyed by the respect of the neighborhood boss and flower shop owner Fergie Colm (Pete Postlethwaite). A scowling Postlethwaite shucking the thorns off rose stems says it all.

Fergie knew Doug’s father Stephen (Chris Cooper in a brief, stirring role), now serving several life sentences for murders committed during a robbery. Fergie can see the father in the son. A “code of honor” exists in this fraternity of neighborhood crooks. Each one displays cleverness and courage in their own way as they carry out schemes masterminded by Fergie.

The laughing nun costumes are an especially nice touch as Doug's crew carries off several jobs with grim, violent aplomb.  The crew includes Slaine (Irish-American hip hopster Gloansky, who writes and performs Run It) and Desmond (Owen Burke).

Doug meets his love interest Claire (Rebecca Hall) in a unique way. Claire was taken hostage (Jem’s idea) after a recent bank robbery. It turns out she lives just a few blocks away from the heist crew. Jem wants her dead, so Doug volunteers to keep an eye on her to make sure she doesn’t know too much.

Hall plays a yuppie bank manager who lives in blue collar Charlestown. She and Affleck weave a believable and passionate chemistry from the moment they meet at a laundromat. Doug woos Claire with understated conviction, faced for the first time with the human costs of his criminal escapades.

Affleck brings maturity and compassion to his role throughout. Doug’s day job in a stone yard is a front for his real identity as a blue collar criminal taking his shot at infamy and fortune.

The Town’s exciting climax features a heist from Fenway Park's cash room. Robert Elswit (Salt; Good Night, and Good Luck) provides memorable widescreen cinematography. Dylan Tichenor (Doubt; The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford) edits neatly. Elswit and Tichenor also teamed up in There Will Be Blood.

Mad Men’s Jon Hamm stands out as determined FBI agent Frawley. The Good Wife’s shady D.A. Glenn Childs (Titus Welliver) is excellent as Frawley’s right hand man.

Gossip Girl Blake Lively is moving as junkie drug mule and mom Krista.

Solid screenplay reveals thoughtful themes. Is it possible to leave the criminal life behind? For fans of Affleck and crime thrillers with heart, The Town is worth seeing again.

If you like The Town, you might enjoy:  The Ghost Writer; The Secret in Their Eyes.

The Town 2010 / PG-13 / 2 hours, 5 min

Cast Overview: Ben Affleck, Rebecca Hall, John Hamm, Jeremy Renner, Blake Lively, Slaine, Titus Welliver, Pete Postlethwaite, Chris Cooper

Director: Ben Affleck

Genres: Crime, Drama, Thriller

 

Hereafter *****

 

A reluctant psychic, a journalist and a boy chase the afterlife even when they want to run from it.  Clint Eastwood directs Hereafter, a passionate exploration of life after death.   

George Lonegan (Matt Damon) is a former psychic in San Francisco who is fed up with death and has returned to the practical trade of dock worker. Marie Lelay (Cecile de France) is a vacationing French journalist who gets caught in a tsunami. Marcus is a London boy whose twin brother dies in a truck accident (Frankie and George McLaren play both roles).

Where do we go after death? In Hereafter, Eastwood brings all the richness and wisdom of his mature vision to explore who we really are.

Shot by shot and scene by scene, the characters are portrayed with integrity and respect. Fascination grows as each one searches: George for happiness, Marie for truth, and Marcus for a link to his lost brother Jason.

Marie has the most to lose. After drowning and being revived (her personal encounter with the tsunami an impeccable part of movie history) she is changed. Fame and fortune vanish as she takes time off from her national news program to write a book about Francois Mitterrand. But soon a new book topic chooses her. Thierry Neuvic plays her fickle lover Didier.

George has abandoned his popular psychic website. It hurt too much. He wants to focus on life now, not on death. He no longer gives readings, he insists. Still, a few desperate souls manage to find him, thanks to his brother Billy (Jay Mohr) who urges George to be true to his gift.

The image of Damon’s big, burly hands briefly clasping those who seek him out is beautiful. In a world of psychic quacks, George seems to be the real deal. What is refreshing is his perspective. He can “connect” with those who have passed away, but affirms the importance of living here and now.

George lies on his bed each night, the words of his favorite author Charles Dickens wafting over him from the radio. His sensitivity and insights are rare, and he knows it.  Slowly, he realizes he must abandon blue collar work.

Bryce Dallas Howard plays Melanie, George’s perky cooking classmate and love interest. The Sopranos’ Steve Schirripa is delightful as sensitive Italian chef and class instructor Carlo.

 

The McLarens are up-and-coming actors to watch as Marcus evokes the tragedy of losing his best friend and twin. He wants neither sympathy nor understanding as he delves into the meaning of his loss. Lyndsey Marshal plays the boys’ addict mother.

In a sweeping climax, the paths of George, Marie and Marcus intersect at a London book fair. Eastwood, firm and self-effacing, helms a big story. His classical treatment of a spiritual theme makes the film great.

Until ten years ago, Eastwood was best known as action hero Dirty Harry Callahan. He began directing in the acclaimed Charlie Parker biography Bird (1988). Eastwood has created a succession of deep, fascinating films including: the Western Unforgiven (1992) which won an Academy Award for Best Picture; A Perfect World (1993); The Bridges of Madison County (1995); Absolute Power (1997); Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil (1997), and True Crime (1999).

More recently Eastwood directed Space Cowboys (2000); Mystic River (2003), and Million Dollar Baby (2004), which won Best Picture as well both the Academy and Golden Globe awards for Best Director.

If you like Hereafter, you might enjoy:  Rabbit Hole; Up in the Air; Goodbye Solo.

Hereafter 2010 / PG-13 / 2 hours, 9 minutes

Cast Overview: Cecile de France, Matt Damon, Bryce Dallas Howard, George McLaren, Frankie McLaren, Lyndsey Marshal, Jay Mohr

Director: Clint Eastwood

Genres: Drama, Thriller, Fantasy

 

Dennis Hopper Retrospective: Carried Away

 

Full frontal nudity and sensitive character development unfold in Carried Away, Bruno Barreto’s memorable drama about following our unique passions. Dennis Hopper and Amy Irving play rural Texas schoolteachers who experience sexual awakening in mid-life.

Hopper died May 29 at age 74 from complications of prostate cancer.

Hopper plays against type as Joseph Svenden, a shy, unhappy 47-year-old who lives with his dying mother. For years he has dated but not proposed to his fiancée Rosealee (an earnest, breathtaking Irving). Adding to his insecurity, the two-room schoolhouse where he teaches is about to close. Joseph’s relatives urge him to revive the family farm, a bleak, uninteresting prospect for him.

His crumbling world is upended one day when seductive Catherine Wheeler (talented Amy Locane) ventures into Joseph’s classroom. Hopper’s decent, level-headed character takes chances and begins to dream again. Rosealee’s son Robert (Christopher Piettiet) has hungers of his own.

Threatened by the young sexpot who tempts her beloved, Irving is wonderful as a sensible widow who might ultimately take chances. Joseph’s mid-life crisis portends a quiet cataclysm for both he and Rosealee.

Based on the novel Farmer by Jim Harrison, the story finds its salvation in taking risks.

Roger Ebert praised Hopper in the Chicago Sun-Times for being “ambitious to do good work” and accepting the role of Joseph. Hopper chose substance over paycheck twice more, said Ebert, in the films The Indian Runner and Paris Trout.

Gary Busey adds wonderful tension and unpredictability as Catherine's father, Major Nathan Wheeler. Julie Harris is formidable in her supporting role as Joseph’s long-suffering mother.

Finally, Barreto invites viewers to imagine who these characters will become.

Carried Away 1996 / R / 1 hr, 49 min

Cast Overview: Dennis Hopper, Amy Irving, Amy Locane, Julie Harris, Gary Busey, Hal Holbrook, Christopher Pettiet, Priscilla Pointer

Director: Bruno Barreto

Genres: Romance, Romantic Drama, Drama Based on the Book

The Secret in Their Eyes *****

 
 

Argentinian romantic crime drama The Secret in Their Eyes was released in the U.S. after winning the 2010 Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. Writer-director Juan Jose Campanella has crafted thoughtfulness and humanity into this masterwork.

Graceful arcs of script are translated lovingly into story on film. Action and plot move in satisfying ways. Relationships develop fully and believably. The film uses no cinematic formula, and only one CSI-like murder scene. It moves from present to past to present with all the naturalness of fully realized drama.

Soulful Ricardo Darin plays Benjamin Esposito, a retired detective now writing a novel. Benjamin once worked for Irene Menendez Hastings (Soledad Villamil), now a judge. Irene had been Benjamin’s superior in a criminal investigation unit. We discover that Benjamin’s novel revolves around a real case, the rape and murder of a young schoolteacher 25 years ago. The book also reveals a story of forbidden love during those years. Benjamin’s attraction to Irene, a lawyer of wealth and social standing, is so doomed that he dares not pursue it. When the truth emerges, Irene divulges her feelings for Benjamin. Yet she is already engaged.

The Secret in Their Eyes is a love story wrapped within a detective story, made more delightful by unexpected infusions of humor. The plot keeps gifting us in unexpected ways. One twist occurs when a fascist government official changes the course of events after Gomez (Javier Godino) is imprisoned for the woman’s murder.

The film also becomes the story of Benjamin’s life and his decisions. Campanella (who directed over a dozen Law & Order: SVU episodes) gives us just enough detail and nuance to portray the detective as a put upon hero who’s always bailing out his alcoholic assistant Sandoval. Yet he is also a dedicated, honest public servant stubbornly chasing justice. Benjamin ultimately remains a detective, following the clues of his own life to transcend what seemed his own certain ending.

Villamil is unforgettable in several scenes, in particular during her cagey interrogation of the schoolteacher’s suspected murderer.

The Secret in Their Eyes asks several questions. How do we deal with emptiness? How do we reconcile our past life with the present? Here the realities of “what happened” and “what is possible” arise and intertwine.

Felix Monti’s cinematography is unassuming but powerful. Most memorably choreographed is a chase scene in a crowded soccer stadium (CGI effects were utilized). Guillermo Francella creates a tragic, ironic Sandoval, and Pablo Rago convinces us as the murder victim's obsessed husband Morales.

The Secret in Their Eyes 2009 / R / 2 hrs, 7 min

Cast Overview: Ricardo Darín, Guillermo Francella, Soledad Villamil, Pablo Rago, Javier Godino, José Luis Gioia, Carla Quevedo

Director: Juan Jose Campanella

Genres: Foreign, Foreign Drama, Foreign Romance, Foreign Crime Drama

Language: Spanish with English subtitles

An Education *****

 

Carey Mulligan is being hailed as the next big star for her radiant character Jenny, a 16-year-old drawn to a man almost twice her age in An Education. Lone Scherfig directs this delicate romantic drama based on the memoir of British journalist Lynn Barber. The film won a Spirit Award for Best Foreign Film.

“If you never do anything, you never become anyone” is Jenny’s philosophy. The controversial An Education will enchant and even thrill many because of Best Actress nominee Mulligan’s vivacious performance, and Peter Sarsgaard’s very sly, charming David.

Jenny is an adventurous spirit in the London suburb of Twickenham in 1961. She studies Latin at a private school and listens to French pop music. Jenny dreams of the day she will go to Oxford and escape her strict parents and the awkward neighborhood boys.

One day David approaches in his sports car as Jenny waits for a bus in the pouring rain. David is handsome, in his thirties and Jewish. He’s like no one she's ever met before.

Expressing concern for her cello, David coaxes Jenny to stop for him.  She accepts a ride. “Have you ever been to a concert?” he asks. “Not a real one,” she replies. Smart, naïve and hungry for life experience, Jenny is hooked.

Amazingly, when David meets Jenny’s parents (Albert Molina and Cara Seymour), they accept the sophisticated man bearing flowers and compliments. He professes to be her cultural mentor.

 

Jenny and David attend an art auction, then a concert and dinner with his friends Danny and Helen (Dominic Cooper and Rosamund Pike). Eventually Jenny joins him on a trip to Paris for a weekend. A particularly moving Molina is swayed on David’s assurance that his aunt will chaperone.

Jenny wants to lose her virginity to David, but only on her seventeenth birthday. As word spreads about Jenny’s adventures, her teachers are not amused. Headmistress Emma Thompson threatens to expel her. Olivia Williams as Miss Stubbs implores the brilliant girl not to abandon her university ambitions.

Scherfig took particular care to ensure that the film’s interior sets, wardrobe and hairstyling evoke the early 1960’s. Both Jenny and Helen wear gaily colored print dresses, slinky cocktail wear and fanciful updos that evoke the period just before women’s liberation.

Jenny makes a devil’s bargain with her innocence, using David perhaps as much as he uses her. It is a life lesson she will never forget.

If you like An Education, you might enjoy:  Shopgirl; Mademoiselle Chambon; Wild Grass.

An Education   2008 / PG-13 / 1 hr, 35 min

Cast Overview: Carey Mulligan, Peter Sarsgaard, Alfred Molina, Rosamund Pike, Dominic Cooper, Olivia Williams, Emma Thompson

Director: Lone Scherfig

Genres: Drama, Romantic Drama

Crazy Heart *****

 
  

  
  
Best Actor Jeff Bridges stars as Bad Blake, a burned out country musician, in the moving drama Crazy Heart. Bridges is so good portraying Blake's struggle with alcoholism and his regrets about the son he abandoned that it hurts.

The singer’s gigs across the Southwest, including a bowling alley, reveal a barren landscape of disappointment, self-loathing and shame. He seems unable and unwilling to understand his bad luck. Blake sings from deep within his soul, but even loyal fans who remember him from years ago are unable to overlook his teetering mental and physical state.

Maggie Gyllenhaal, a great actor, was miscast here. The relationship between her character Jean Craddock, a Santa Fe writer, and Blake was just short of believable, perhaps because of Gyllenhaal’s girl-next-door personality. Blake’s efforts to atone for his sins by playing father to Jean’s cute 4-year-old son Buddy (well-played by Jack Nation), and Gyllenhaal’s willingness to leave him unattended with Blake, are achingly real.

Crazy Heart focuses mostly on the singer’s downward spiral, and would have benefited from an earlier emphasis on Blake’s transformation and songwriting. Similar films that develop the theme of stardom and addiction more effectively are The Wrestler and Walk the Line. All these films ask the question: Do life struggles deepen one’s creativity, and even make art possible?

 

The film is loosely based on the life of late Country Music Hall of Famer Hank Thompson, as portrayed in a novel by Thomas Cobb.

Producer and co-star Robert Duvall is earthy and brotherly as Blake's best friend Wayne. Colin Farrell deftly plays Tommy Sweet, Blake's former student who's now more popular than his teacher. The soundtrack by T-Bone Burnett and Ryan Bingham includes Golden Globe Best Original Song winner The Weary Kind (sung by Bridges) and Crazy Heart (sung by Farrell). Yes, both actors can sing!

If you like Crazy Heart, you might enjoy:  True Grit; Blue Valentine; Two Lovers; The Town.

Crazy Heart  2009 / R / 1 hr, 52 min

Cast Overview: Jeff Bridges, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Colin Farrell, Robert Duvall, Tom Bower, James Keane, William Marquez, Ryan Bingham, Paul Herman, Rick Dial, Beth Grant

Director: Scott Cooper

Genres: Drama, Indie Drama, Romantic Drama, Music, Drama Based on the Book