Ethan Hawke as Chet Baker in Born To Be Blue. We’ve got a couple more biopics coming up (the Hank Williams one opens today, and then comes the Miles Davis one).
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That’s a great review, Sheila. I’m so fascinated by the alternate history/movie device (the black and white looks gorgeous in the trailer) – it seems just right for a jazz biopic – and it’s weird that they’d let it lapse as it went on. Did it get too complicated do you think?
Also: Callum Keith Rennie as “Dick”? Say! No! More!
Callum Keith Rennie is awesome! And boy does he look like he stepped right out of that period.
and yeah, I think the device did get too complicated – or too hard to sustain – I’m not sure – but except for a couple of instances, it’s dropped totally into the “real.”
Because Chet Baker is so mysterious – anyone who lives as a junkie for 30+ years is going to have all these gaps in the timeline – the device worked really well. It tells you upfront: “Let’s take a stab at what this guy was all about …”
Still worth a watch. An interesting attempt and I love the actress!!