Born to Be Blue (2015)

A re-imagining of jazz legend Chet Baker's musical comeback in the late '60s.

Director:

Robert Budreau

Writers:

Robert Budreau, James Luscombe (story editor)

Stars:

Ethan Hawke, Carmen Ejogo, Callum Keith Rennie

3 wins & 7 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Ethan Hawke	...	Chet Baker
Carmen Ejogo	...	Jane / Elaine
Callum Keith Rennie	...	Dick Bock
Tony Nappo	...	Officer Reid
Stephen McHattie	...	Chesney Baker Sr.
Janet-Laine Green	...	Vera Baker
Dan Lett	...	Danny Friedman
Kedar Brown	...	Miles Davis
Kevin Hanchard	...	Dizzy Gillespie
Tony Nardi	...	Nicholas
Barbara Mamabolo	...	Janelle
Charles Officer	...	Bowling Alley Thug
Katie Boland	...	Sarah
Janine Theriault	...	Florence
Joe Cobden	...	Actor Dick

Storyline

Born to be Blue starring Ethan Hawke is a re-imagining of jazz trumpeter Chet Baker's life in the 60's. When Chet stars in a film about himself, a romance heats up with his costar, the enigmatic Jane (Carmen Ejogo). Production is shelved when Chet's past comes back to haunt him and it appears he may never play music again but Jane challenges him to mount a musical comeback against all the odds.

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Plot Keywords:

reference to billie holiday | jazz musician | musician as protagonist | comeback | jazz | 

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Genres:

Biography | Drama | Music | Romance

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for drug use, language, some sexuality and brief violence

Details

Official Sites:

Official site [Japan]

Country:

Canada UK

Language:

English Italian

Release Date:

30 March 2016 (USA)

Also Known As:

Chet Baker: A Lenda do Jazz

Filming Locations:

Sudbury, Ontario, Canada

Box Office

Budget:

$6,500,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$46,184, 27 March 2016, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$830,129, 7 July 2016

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$2,003,337, 1 December 2016

Company Credits

Production Co:

New Real Films, Lumanity Productions, Black Hangar Studios

Technical Specs

Runtime:

97 min

Color:

Color Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

According to Ethan Hawke on the 'WTF Podcast', he wanted to play Chet Baker going back 15 to 20 years before. Richard Linklater, when approached with Hawke by the idea of a biopic, had his own idea of making a Baker film about a day-in-the-life story about the day before Baker tried heroin for the first time. But because the project couldn't gain traction, and Hawke's age not matching up after years of effort of finding a distributor, the idea was dropped.

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Goofs

Jane holds a stick figure made of vegetables on the set that disappears and reappears between shots.

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Quotes

Chet Baker: Time gets wider, you know. Not just longer.

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Connections

Featured in Late Night with Seth Meyers: Ethan Hawke/Danielle Brooks/Louie Anderson (2016)

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Soundtracks

Over the Rainbow
Arranged and Performed by David Braid
Written by Harold Arlen (as H. Arlen) and E.Y. Harburg (as E. Harburg)
Courtesy of EMI Feist Catalog Inc.

User Reviews

Now this is a good movie!!!

The overall production was stellar.

Ethan Hawke gives a honest performance that showcase his most endearing qualities as a fine thespian. His portrait of Chet Baker is impressive.

Hawke and Cameron Ejogo who played his girlfriend in the film had a lot of chemistry between the two of them, which is good because the movie centers on the both of them greatly. I herd her role is more of a mixture of many women Chet seem to be able to pull down, which only makes her performance more important, as she goes from being a coworker in a movie about his life to his love interest, the mother of his child, and most importantly the muse the keeps him going and inspires him to kick his drug habit in order to get better and play better.

The imagery of the film was great, it was not too colorful but gave a bright California vibe known in 1960s movies.

And it was a well told story about about drug addiction. It was not one of these things where you should feel super sad for the person cause he can't stay off the stuff. It was a honest look about an insure man who could not function properly without heroin in his system.

Truly a masterpiece in cinema when you can tell a fantastic and interesting story in a motion picture that does not to use Hollywood clichés in it. I loved it.