Born to Be Blue
Four-time Oscar-nominee Ethan Hawke (Boyhood) is jazz legend Chet Baker in this semi-fictional biopic detailing his rise, fall, and comeback. Co-stars Camen Ejogo (Selma).
In the 1950s, Baker was one of the most famous trumpeters in the world, renowned as both a pioneer of the West Coast jazz scene and an icon of cool. By the 1960s, he was all but washed up, his career and personal life in shambles due to years of heroin addiction. In his innovative anti-biopic, director Robert Budreau zeroes in on Baker’s life at a key moment in the 1960s, just as the musician attempts to stage a hard-fought comeback, spurred in part by a passionate romance with a new flame.
201598 minsUSA, Canada, UK
DramaMusicTrue Story & Biography
- Director:
- Robert Budreau
- Writer:
- Robert Budreau
- Cast:
- Ethan HawkeCarmen EjogoCallum Keith Rennie
Born to Be Blue / Reviews
The Telegraph
Another vital reminder, along with Danny Boyle’s Steve Jobs, that biopics can reveal much about their subjects while only showing us a sliver of their lives.
Full reviewThe Guardian
A curious mixture of fact and fiction, cliche and originality, style and emotion - it never truly soars but by throwing the ingredients of Baker's life together and producing something different, it's never less than intriguing.
Full review
Hollywood Reporter
Hawke is natural casting as Baker, sharing enough facial similarities to capture some of the late jazz icon's chiseled, hollow-cheeked, fallen-angel beauty.
Full review
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