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 |
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. Written by Leonard Farlinger
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.