'Born to Be Blue' is unsatisfying and fragmented
In 'Blue,' actor Ethan Hawke portrays West Coast trumpeter jazz legend Chet Baker. The movie is strange, but at its best it belongs in the same unconventional continuum as fellow music movies 'I鈥檓 Not There' and 'Love and Mercy.'
Ethan Hawke plays legendary jazz trumpeter Chet Baker in 'Born to Be Blue.'
Courtesy of Caitlin Cronenberg/IFC Films
Ethan Hawke plays West Coast trumpeter jazz legend Chet Baker in Robert Budreau鈥檚 鈥淏orn to Be Blue,鈥� and he captures Baker鈥檚 downward spiral into drug addiction even as he tried to fashion a new 鈥渃ool鈥� sound.
It鈥檚 a strange, unsatisfying, fragmented movie, but at its best it belongs in the same unconventional continuum as Todd Haynes鈥檚 鈥淚鈥檓 Not There鈥� (about Bob Dylan) and 鈥淟ove and Mercy鈥� (about Brian Wilson). Grade: B- (This film is unrated.)