Throughout his impressive film career, Jeff Bridges has racked up four Academy Award nominations – “The Last Picture Show,” “Thunderbolt and Lightfoot,” “Starman” and “The Contender” – but he’s come up short each time.

With his sensational performance as the washed-up, whiskey-soaked country singer Bad Blake, however, Bridges is finally likely to wrap his hand around that elusive Oscar.

It’s a stunning, fearless portrayal without a single false moment. Channeling a perfect blend of country music hell-raisers Kris Kristofferson and the late Waylon Jennings, Bridges plays Blake as the quintessential hard-living, road-weary troubadour on the brink of self-destruction and disintegration. It’s not a pretty picture.

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