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IMDbPro

Born to Be Blue

  • 20152015
  • RR
  • 1h 37m
IMDb RATING
6.8/10
8.9K
YOUR RATING
Ethan Hawke in Born to Be Blue (2015)
Chet Baker attempts a hard-fought comeback in the 1960s, spurred in part by a passionate romance with a new flame.
Play trailer2:29
1 Video
41 Photos
BiographyDramaMusic
A re-imagining of jazz legend Chet Baker's musical comeback in the late '60s.A re-imagining of jazz legend Chet Baker's musical comeback in the late '60s.A re-imagining of jazz legend Chet Baker's musical comeback in the late '60s.
IMDb RATING
6.8/10
8.9K
YOUR RATING
    • Robert Budreau
    • Robert Budreau
    • James Luscombe(story editor)
  • Stars
    • Ethan Hawke
    • Carmen Ejogo
    • Callum Keith Rennie
    • Robert Budreau
    • Robert Budreau
    • James Luscombe(story editor)
  • Stars
    • Ethan Hawke
    • Carmen Ejogo
    • Callum Keith Rennie
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 41User reviews
    • 102Critic reviews
    • 64Metascore
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Awards

    Videos1

    Official Trailer
    Trailer 2:29
    Watch Official Trailer

    Photos41

    Ethan Hawke in Born to Be Blue (2015)
    Ethan Hawke in Born to Be Blue (2015)
    Carmen Ejogo in Born to Be Blue (2015)
    Ethan Hawke and Carmen Ejogo in Born to Be Blue (2015)
    Ethan Hawke in Born to Be Blue (2015)
    Carmen Ejogo and Callum Keith Rennie in Born to Be Blue (2015)
    Ethan Hawke in Born to Be Blue (2015)
    Ethan Hawke in Born to Be Blue (2015)
    Ethan Hawke in Born to Be Blue (2015)
    Ethan Hawke in Born to Be Blue (2015)
    Ethan Hawke and Carmen Ejogo in Born to Be Blue (2015)
    Ethan Hawke in Born to Be Blue (2015)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Ethan Hawke
    Ethan Hawke
    • Chet Baker
    Carmen Ejogo
    Carmen Ejogo
    • Jane…
    Callum Keith Rennie
    Callum Keith Rennie
    • Dick Bock
    Tony Nappo
    Tony Nappo
    • Officer Reid
    Stephen McHattie
    Stephen McHattie
    • Chesney Baker Sr.
    Janet-Laine Green
    Janet-Laine Green
    • Vera Baker
    Dan Lett
    Dan Lett
    • Danny Friedman
    Kedar Brown
    Kedar Brown
    • Miles Davis
    Kevin Hanchard
    Kevin Hanchard
    • Dizzy Gillespie
    Tony Nardi
    Tony Nardi
    • Nicholas
    Barbara Mamabolo
    Barbara Mamabolo
    • Janelle
    Charles Officer
    Charles Officer
    • Bowling Alley Thug
    Katie Boland
    Katie Boland
    • Sarah
    Janine Theriault
    Janine Theriault
    • Florence
    Joe Cobden
    Joe Cobden
    • Actor Dick
    Natassia Halabi
    Natassia Halabi
    • Jenny
    Barbara Eve Harris
    Barbara Eve Harris
    • Elsie Azuka
    Eugene Clark
    Eugene Clark
    • Henry Azuka
      • Robert Budreau
      • Robert Budreau
      • James Luscombe(story editor)
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

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

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

    • Connections
      Featured in Late Night with Seth Meyers: Ethan Hawke/Danielle Brooks/Louie Anderson (2016)
    • Soundtracks
      Let's Get Lost
      Arranged and Performed by David Braid

      Written by Frank Loesser (as F. Loesser), Jimmy McHugh (as J. McHugh)

      Courtesy of Sony / ATV Harmony

    User reviews41

    Review
    Review
    Featured review
    Beautifully Acted: He Loved His Horn and His Heroin
    Ethan Hawke stars in this beautifully acted portrayal of jazz trumpeter and singer Chet Baker during his prime. Know that the film treats the facts of Baker's actual biography, as one reviewer said, more like a chord chart than a score and riffs from there. What is true-to-life is that Baker was an only child, born on a lonely ranch in Yale, Oklahoma, and went on to have numerous relationships with women and a long-term relationship with heroin. Musically, he was a progenitor of West Coast Swing, but always had his eye on the New York scene, with the mantra: "Look out Dizzy, look out, Miles. There's a little white California boy coming for you." An accident when Baker was 12 caused him to lose a front tooth, after which he had to re-learn to play the trumpet. That was a mere warmup to the effort he had to put in after his drug dealer pistol-whipped him and knocked out all of his front teeth, destroying his embouchure. Yet, he couldn't stay away from heroin. He thought it made his playing better, and he was all about his music. While Baker had a great talent for improvisation and sustaining a melodic line, he had no talent at all for being happy. After one important comeback milestone, his manager (Callum Keith Rennie) asks, "Would you try to be happy for more than ten seconds?" This line provides the ironic overlay to the choice of title for the film, one of Baker's big hits. Hawke did the films vocals; the trumpet playing was by Canadian trumpeter Kevin Turcotte. Written and directed by Robert Budreau, the movie has an opening scene that shows how a girl he picked up after a performance casually introduced him to heroin, and he didn't say no. This scene turns out to be part of a movie being made about him and whether such a significant life event happened in such an offhand way, we don't know. The insertion of black and white scenes, some of which may be from the movie (which was never finished) or from his memory, plays with the order of events, especially early in the film, an improvisational approach to history that mimics jazz music itself. Although Baker does get clean for a several years as he is recovering his playing ability, a return to heroin remains a risk in the music business. As his parole officer says, "You go into a barber shop and sit in the chair long enough, you're going to get a haircut." Still, his parole officer, his girlfriend—the delectable Carmen Ejogo (playing a composite of several women)—his manager, and many musicians wanted him to succeed, including Dizzie Gillespie and Gerry Mulligan. Miles Davis, notoriously prickly, was not a fan, and we'll get a chance to get his side of the story in the biopic with Don Cheadle, coming soon.
    helpful•28
    5
    • vsks
    • Apr 14, 2016

    Details

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    • Release date
      • March 30, 2016 (United States)
      • Canada
      • United Kingdom
      • Official site (Japan)
      • English
      • Italian
    • Also known as
    • Filming locations
      • Sudbury, Ontario, Canada
    • Production companies
      • New Real Films
      • Lumanity Productions
      • Black Hangar Studios
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

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    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

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    • 1 hour 37 minutes
      • Color
      • Black and White

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