Thank You, Cathleen Falsani!

Last updated on: August 21, 2012 at 3:16 pm by Jeffrey Overstreet

Thank You, Cathleen Falsani! 2012-08-21T15:16:40-06:00 Jeffrey Overstreet

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

My friend Cathleen Falsani, whose unapologetic journalism about faith for The Chicago Sun-Times has been a pioneering work of exploration and religious inquiry in the public square, is moving on.

Her farewell piece for the Sun-Times is about Crazy Heart, the new film starring Jeff Bridges (and, I might add, featuring some music by Sam Phillips!)

But it’s about a whole lot more than that.

With her permission, I’m reposting that farewell article from her blog:

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K7Jf2mcSplw

The Weary Kind: One Journey Ends, Another Begins

by Cathleen Falsani

We love a redemption story.

The profound appeal of rags-to-riches-to-rags-to-riches or the fall-from-grace-followed-by-a-spectacular-comeback is about as ingrained in our American psyche (and soul) as rooting for the underdog, generosity to those in distress and second chances.

When I walked into the movie theater earlier this week for an 11 a.m. show of the new film “Crazy Heart,” I was expecting to love it. I am a diehard Jeff Bridges fan (he is the Dude, after all) and almost as big a fan of T Bone Burnett, who wrote the original music for the film.

What I wasn’t anticipating was being deeply moved spiritually — transformed by it, in some small way, really.

As I sat through the previews in the darkened, almost empty theater, I did something I haven’t done before in that kind of a venue: I prayed.

For whatever reason, I felt led to talk to God before the film started. “Help me to see what you want me to see in this movie,” I prayed. “Let me be open and awake to your truth in it. Allow it to change me.”

“Crazy Heart” is an extraordinarily beautiful film about real redemption. Bridges, who plays the protagonist Bad Blake, gives the performance of his already august career, and Maggie Gyllenhaal, playing Jean Craddock, a fledgling journalist and Blake’s love interest, is so good and true and believable that she more than once moved me to tears.

Bad Blake is a down-on-his-luck country singer who lives on the margins, basking in the last vestiges of the light of tremendous success he enjoyed some years earlier, before alcoholism and despair all but snuffed it out.

Despite the nickname he embraces with a swagger, Blake is not a bad man. He is weak and ill, floundering in the hell he has created for himself with one unfortunate decision after another and the albatross of addiction.

Blake has redeeming qualities. He is a remarkably talented musician. He tells true stories of pain and loss. And he possesses a yearning for and ability to love ardently.

He is not a lost cause, even if he doesn’t believe that about himself much of the time.

When he opens his heart to love and be loved, he is transformed, though not without once again stumbling over his own weakness and selfishness.

Blake is on his last legs, but he’s not out of chances.

He just needs to make enough room in his topsy-turvy world for them to happen.

As I watched the film and listened to the glorious music (Bridges has a beautiful voice, as does Colin Farrell, who plays Tommy Sweet, a country superstar who was mentored by Blake and owes him a debt for his mega-success), the big story behind (or above) the plot began to come into focus.
While God is not a character listed in the credits, I believe the film is told through God’s gracious, and sometimes mournful, eyes.

Blake is loved and cherished, beautifully and wonderfully made — a creator in the image of the Creator.

But he keeps getting in his own way, repeatedly screwing up, failing and disappointing himself and those who care for him most.

He hits bottom and rises.

Still, in the midst of true redemption, not all is set right. There is no magic pill, no secret password to undoing all he’s done. He has to live with the consequences of his mistakes. But he lives. And there is hope for beauty and love in his future.

A magnificent, heartbreaking song emerges from the pain and destruction. It’s called “The Weary Kind,” and serves as the musical theme for the film.

It says, in part:

Your body aches…
Playing your guitar and sweating out the hate
The days and the nights all feel the same
Whiskey has been a thorn in your side
and it doesn’t forget
the highway that calls for your heart inside
And this ain’t no place for the weary kind
And this ain’t no place to lose your mind
And this ain’t no place to fall behind
Pick up your crazy heart and give it one more try

Bad Blake’s is a weary redemption. But he is redeemed.

I walked out of the theater and checked my voicemail. There was a message from my editor at the Sun-Times asking me to give him a call.

I knew why he was calling before he told me. My journey at the paper was over.

The reasons for my departure from the paper where I’ve written about God and faith and religion and what (and why) we believe, are sadly familiar to anyone who has paid attention to the slow decline of the Fourth Estate in recent days.

Budgets are being cut. The news hole in the physical paper is shrinking.

The man who dispatched me is the same fellow who hired me a decade ago. I cannot imagine he took any pleasure in sending me on my way.

Learning that my tenure at the paper was over left me feeling sad and, yes, weary.

As grateful as I am for the extraordinary opportunities, both professional and personal, my time at the Sun-Times has given me, I was even more grateful for the transformation of my heart that had taken place in that dark theater.

My heart was soft and pliant. I was not angry or bitter.

I was, and am, grateful. For the door closing and another that is sure to open.

For lessons hard learned.

For encountering the living God in unexpected places.

And for the hope of redemption.

My next column will be my last in these pages.

Thank you for taking this journey with me and I wish you grace and traveling mercies for whatever happens next.

Blog

Cathleen Falsani

Crazy Heart

The Chicago Sun-Times

Previous Post

January 15, 2010

Who would you cast? (Answer, and You Might Win a Prize.)

Next Post

January 17, 2010 I'm a ramblin' guy. I'm ramblin', ramblin' round...

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Blog Bloggers on "Through a Screen Darkly" Browser Coming Soon Endorsements Fiction Books Film Forum Film Reviews Inspirations Interviews Journal Kindlings Muse Movie buzz Music Reviews Non-Fiction Books radio Reviewers on "Through a Screen Darkly" The Auralia Thread Through a Screen Darkly Through a Screen Darkly - Bonus Materials Top 10 (or 20 or 100) lists Uncategorized

Select a Month June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011 December 2010 November 2010 October 2010 September 2010 August 2010 July 2010 June 2010 May 2010 April 2010 March 2010 February 2010 January 2010 December 2009 November 2009 October 2009 September 2009 August 2009 July 2009 June 2009 May 2009 April 2009 March 2009 February 2009 January 2009 December 2008 November 2008 October 2008 September 2008 August 2008 July 2008 June 2008 May 2008 April 2008 March 2008 February 2008 January 2008 December 2007 November 2007 October 2007 September 2007 August 2007 July 2007 June 2007 May 2007 April 2007 March 2007 February 2007 January 2007 December 2006 November 2006 October 2006 September 2006 August 2006 July 2006 June 2006 May 2006 April 2006 March 2006 February 2006 January 2006 December 2005 November 2005 October 2005 September 2005 August 2005 July 2005 June 2005 May 2005 April 2005 March 2005 February 2005 January 2005 December 2004 November 2004 October 2004 September 2004 August 2004 July 2004 June 2004 May 2004 April 2004 July 2003 May 2003 March 2003 September 1999

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

True or False: Noah's ark was made of cedar wood.

Select your answer to see how you score.

TRUE FALSE