Writer-director Scott Cooper’s sensational 2009 movie feature debut showcases Best Actor Oscar-winning Jeff Bridges, who is at his best for ages and ages as Bad Blake, a boozed-out, burnt-out country singer.

Bad Blake gets a second bit of a chance thanks to a young country singer, Tommy Sweet (Colin Farrell) he writes songs for, a Santa Fe reporter, Jean Craddock (Maggie Gyllenhaal, also Oscar-nominated) he falls for and a good ol’ club owner, Wayne (Robert Duvall, also one of the producers of the film), who’s his buddy.

Bridges is slighter better than the film even. But the film’s great, too – lively, atmospheric, appealing and touching – much, much better than the TV movie kind of material it could easily have slipped into...