Amy G. Casey

I knew this film might be hard to watch, and it was. But I loved it and highly recommend it. Jeff Bridges unflinchingly portrays the brutal reality of life as an alcoholic. The ugly truth is that an addict constantly makes a choice – between the people he loves and his addiction.

It looked to me like Jeff Bridges’ character, Bad Blake, had hit bottom at one point in the film after an accident left his body broken. But hurting himself wasn’t enough. It took hurting someone he loved to let him see how low he was, that he needed help.

The story is really about redemption – for me it validates that undying spark of light within  us that wants to shine, even when we don’t want to let it. I’ve seen this transformation in my father – like Bad Blake in the movie, he was a musician, and a heavy smoker and drinker. That life seemed glamorous for awhile, until he realized that he had to have a bottle  just to make it through the day. He hit bottom when I was a teenager,  when he finally went to rehab.  He told me, “Ames, I’m never gonna drink again.” I didn’t believe him.

But he showed me the strength he found inside, and has lived up to his word. I’m  grateful that he made that decision to live and become a different man – he’s been clean and sober now for decades. His choices left a lot of damage in his wake. Bad Blake sums it up in the song “Somebody Else” on the Crazy Heart soundtrack:

“I used to be somebody, now I am somebody else, who I’ll be tomorrow, is anybody’s guess… Now that I’m a brand-new man, you belong to someone else.”

Redemption was a choice for Bad Blake and for my dad – one that takes tremendous strength. I consider my father’s redemption one of the miracles in my life. Thanks, Dad, for choosing the people you love.