When we first see Bad Blake in Crazy Heart we have a pretty good idea of where he is in life. He is showing up at a bowling alley where he'll be playing his music. He's at the bottom of the entertainment world. And we have a pretty good idea how he's gotten to this place. He's broke. He's an alcoholic. He has no sense of responsibility. He can barely make it through his show. We may think that he's hit rock bottom. He hasn't yet.

In his next town, he agrees to give an interview to Jean, a writer for the local paper. Something chemical happens between the two of them. They begin a romance. For Bad it may be a chance to connect with her child, who is the same age as Bad's son was the last time he saw him—twenty-four years ago. Jean doesn't seem to be like the groupies Bad has had access to all these years—women who just want to sleep with someone famous, even if he's a used-to-be. Jean seems firmly planted in life. Perhaps that appeals to Bad as well. In some ways, things begin to improve in Bad's life, but soon his egocentric nature leads him to his true bottom.

Certainly Bad has seen better days. He used to be a headliner. He's seen himself surpassed by a younger singer he taught to play. He doesn't even like to talk about Tommy. You can tell that Bad feels hurt by what has happened. He still has a love for Tommy, but can't seem to get a handle on his new role of former mentor.

Central to all of Bad's troubles is that he sees himself as the center of the universe. He can't fathom why his agent would book him into such crummy venues. He doesn't understand why Tommy won't have him be on his next record. Everything is about him. One of his greatest talents is his ability to write songs. His agent asks him to write; Tommy asks him to write. But for Bad, writing for somebody else is not what he wants. That would put them at center stage with him in the wings. How could he ever by happy in that kind of relationship?

His interaction with Jean and her son gives him a bit of a connection with someone else. He begins to care for someone other than himself. We begin to sense some hope for Bad coming from this relationship. But in time, his own needs and desires creates the crisis that ends the relationship and finally leads Bad to seeking sobriety.

Going in to the film, I'd heard about Jeff Bridges' performance, which is indeed exceptional, and the music by Stephen Bruton and T-Bone Burnett, also noteworthy. Bridges does especially well with Bad's downward spiral. He gives us little to love about Bad early on, but then lets us see a bit of what is lovable in the character only to break our hearts with his behavior, just as he breaks Jean's. It is a reminder that not only does such self-centeredness fail to give us what we truly needs, it also bring pain into our lives and the lives of those around us.

The film doesn't do as well with Bad's redemption. Once he bottoms out, we never really get a picture of the struggle to bring his life back together. It is all too easy. Recovery from alcoholism (which in Bad's case is really not the primary disease per se, but rather the symptom of his self-centeredness) is a difficult process. We never get to see that process, only a result some time off in the future.

What Crazy Heart does especially well is showing the need we have to be connected to others. All the time Bad is alone his life amounts to little. He never connects with the people around him—pickup backup groups or groupies. When he does, he finds what has been missing from his life. He has tried to live that way for too long, and it has exacted a price far deeper than he realizes. The film ends with a hope that his life will find some fulfillment, even if he is standing in the wings of someone else's show.