CRAZY HEART / ***½

Distributor: Fox Searchlight
Release Date: December 16, 2009
Genre: Drama
Running Time: 111 minutes
MPAA Rating: R

After four previous Oscar nominations and decades of being one of the most respected actors in Hollywood, Jeff Bridges finally seems poised to capture an Academy Award for best Actor for his performance as the hard living country singer Bad Blake in Scott Cooper’s “Crazy Heart.”

The story is strikingly similar to another film that brought its leading man plenty of Oscar talk last year – Darren Aronofsky’s “The Wrestler” with Mickey Rourke. Bad Blake is a country singer who used to be a lot bigger than he is now, as his concerts are booked in bowling alleys and corner bars in small towns. He’s been drunk likely as long as he can remember, and his carousing lifestyle has led to a distance from those he once loved.

On one of his tour stops, he meets a young journalist named Jean Craddock (Maggie Gyllenhaal) that wants to interview him. They develop an instant rapport and Bad even takes a liking to her young son. Jean approaches the relationship with some degree of trepidation, but she can’t help but be transfixed by the man who seems to effortlessly write great songs while simply lying in bed and hardly thinking about it.

While Bad Blake is playing in dives, one of his protégés, a man named Tommy Sweet (Colin Farrell) has attained worldwide stardom and plays to sold out arenas. This is definitely a subplot to the main love story, but the scenes between Farrell and Bridges actually outshone the Gyllenhaal and Bridges scenes. Farrell and Bridges undoubtedly have chemistry together; their scenes together are two men unsure how to act around each other, even though there is clearly respect there. I wouldn’t have minded if this was the film’s main story, but alas. Farrell continues to impress me as an actor – between this and “The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus” (as well as last year’s “In Bruges” I really don’t think he’s getting enough credit these days.

In a bit of irony or just clever casting, Robert Duvall also shows up as Wayne, a bartender whom Bad has had a long friendship with. Duvall won an Oscar in 1984 for “Tender Mercies,” another film “Crazy Heart” can be compared to.

“Crazy Heart” though simply belongs to Jeff Bridges, and it is a wonderful performance. Whether or not it’s been declared “his time” or not it’s a performance worthy of the Oscar he’s sure to win.

Theater: RDM Westroads 14, Omaha, NE
Time: 210 pm
Date: February 7, 2010

THE IMAGINARIUM OF DOCTOR PARNASSUS / ****

Distributor: Sony Classics
Release Date: December 25, 2009
Genre: Fantasy
Running Time: 122 minutes
MPAA Rating: PG-13

Given all the hubbub and press surrounding Christopher Nolan’s 2008 masterpiece “The Dark Knight,” particularly in regards to the late Heath Ledger’s Oscar-winning performance, it would be easy to forget that Ledger had one more performance in the can – Terry Gilliam’s “The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus.”

The title character is played by the veteran Christopher Plummer (who scored his first Oscar nomination this year for the little-seen “The Last Station”), and he does indeed possess an Imaginarium. He travels around with an entourage of his daughter Valentina (Lily Cole), Anton (Andrew Garfield), and faithful midget sidekick Percy (Verne Troyer). Many years ago Parnassus made a deal with the devil Mr. Nick (played with delicious viciousness by Tom Waits) that promised the devil would gain possession of any children Parnassus may have on their sixteenth birthday. With Valentina’s sixteenth birthday approaching, Parnassus grows increasingly nervous about telling his daughter of her impending fate.

One rainy night, the traveling act discovers a man (Ledger) hanging from a bridge via a noose. They pull him to safety and resuscitate the man, who cannot remember his name or anything else about himself. He is allowed to travel with them, and even becomes a part of their act. He soon remembers that his name is Tony. The act itself is a series of goofy histrionics, until a person passes through the Imaginarium. The visuals concocted her could only be dreamed up by Gilliam, who is a master of this kind of storytelling.

Of course, that pesky Mr. Nick just won’t go away, and he reappears to make another deal with Parnassus. Whoever is the first to garner five souls will get to retain possession of Daughter. Tony wants to help retain Valentina, and offers some ideas on how to change the act. Anton, the jealous type, doesn’t trust him, but Parnassus is desperate enough to keep his daughter that he listens to him. Details about Tony’s true character do come to light, but I won’t reveal them here.

The tragedy of this film is ironically what made it most successful. Ledger’s untimely death resulted in some story shuffling and re-casting. Gilliam made the inspired choice to cast Johnny Depp, Jude Law, and Colin Farrell as three different versions of the Tony character, which spring up in three different Imaginarium experiences. All three actors do a marvelous job playing the Tony character as Ledger did, and the film takes on a deeper meaning as a tribute to the deceased. Of the three Farrell admittedly walks away with the movie, a stunning reminder that he is in fact a hugely talented actor.

“The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus” may not tickle everyone’s fancy, but it certainly struck a chord in me. The visuals alone make this a unique experience, but the story and performances certainly enhanced them. It’s really a shame that there will be no more new Heath Ledger performances, but at least he got a movie as good as this one for a true swan song.

Theater: AMC Oakview 24, Omaha, NE
Time: 1005 pm
Date: February 2, 2010