Crazy Heart, Brüno, Faces

Crazy Heart (Scott Cooper, 2009)

with Robb Stey, UA East (89th and 1st), 2/15/10

7

A mellow, graceful, not-too-ambitious movie, full of good music, beautiful landscapes, and a rueful sense of wisdom hard-earned.  Jeff Bridges’ performance has a throwaway perfection to it; he’s not so much playing Bad Blake as just being him for a spell.

Brüno (Larry Charles, 2009)

with Devin, on DVD in barn, 2/16/10

6

Not an easy film to watch — full of situations so painfully, protractedly awkward that it’s all you can do not to look away.  There are more cringes than laughs in Brüno, but when the laughs come, they’re big.  More than anything, watch it to be floored by the extraordinary courage it took for Sacha Baron Cohen to put himself in these situations — and stay there.  In addition to being a certified comic genius, the man has balls of iron.  Granted, Brüno isn’t as compelling a character as Borat; then again, is it possible to imagine a character as compelling as Borat?

Faces (John Cassavetes, 1968)

with Mike Lavoie, Clint Byrne, Alexis MacDonald, and Brandt Shandera, 378 Bond St., 2/17/10

3

“If they took out all the singing, dancing, laughing, and limericking in this movie, it’d be ten minutes long.”  -Mike Lavoie

Alas, our esteemed curator Mr. Lavoie is right.  Faces is the kind of brave, iconoclastic film that dares to turn its back on fusty Hollywood conventions like plot, pacing, entertainment, and likable characters.  Mostly, it’s a lot of coarse, braying laughter and sudden mood swings.  Is this satire?  An unsparing depiction of existential crisis?  Melodrama?  Farce?  Who knows?  Faces won’t say.  The shooting is interesting — loose and fresh-feeling, with lots of wide lenses and foreground obstructions.  Beyond that, there’s not much to hold your attention; John Marley is charismatic in the lead (I guess he’s the lead), but his character is impossible to grab hold of — just like the film.