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 | 1950s | 1960s | 

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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

Did You Know?

Trivia

Ethan Hawke wore prosthetic teeth to get the teeth gap in the first scenes.

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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

Referenced in The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon: Ethan Hawke/Freddie Prinze Jr./Ingrid Michaelson (2016)

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Soundtracks

A Small Hotel
Arranged and Performed by David Braid
Written by Richard Rodgers & Lorenz Hart
Published by Williamson Music, an Imagem Company, Warner/Chappell Music Canada Ltd.

User Reviews

Another first class picture

Ethan Hawke as Chet Baker is giving us a characterization of Chet Baker not as the person but surely as what it felt like to be Chet Baker. It is Chet Baker trying to understand himself and how his music was a projection of himself to which he was always striving to make more perfect. No human can do this therefore the heroin was an escape from himself.

Carmen Ejogo positively shines as the two women in his life. As his girlfriend Elaine she tries to bring some sense of balance and grounding into his mixed-up life and realizes late into their loveship she will always be second to his music and drugs.

This story is fascinating and painful. And this is where the viewer may experience compassion burnout because Baker is forever making the same mistakes. He cannot see this but you the viewer will see it and by movies end you just do not care anymore. Everything about this movie is right but by the end you are just at the point of being bored!

Still this is a film worth every minute of viewing time.

Details

Official Sites:

Official site [Japan]

Country:

Canada UK

Language:

English Italian

Release Date:

30 March 2016 (USA)

Also Known As:

Born to Be Blue

Filming Locations:

Sudbury, Ontario, Canada

Box Office

Budget:

$6,500,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$14,069, 6 March 2016

Gross USA:

$830,129

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$1,553,337

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