Review of Born to Be Blue (2016) by Spangle — 15 Oct 2016

Far from your typical musical biopic, Born to Be Blue tells the tragic tale of jazz legend Chet Baker. Plagued with heroin addiction, but blessed with a musical gift, Baker is a truly tragic figure brought to life by Ethan Hawke. With a knack for telling a quality story that adequately blends Baker's earlier days with the beginning of his resurgence, Born to Be Blue manages to feel wholly unique in its biographical approach to a story that is largely pretty typical in the musical biopic subgenre.

In all of these films, a talented musician cheats on his women and does drugs to the point of being a hopeless addict. Scenes of adultery and drug use are juxtaposed with that musician turning in tremendous performance after tremendous performance. The end result is a heart wrenching look at the marriage of abuse and talent. Born to Be Blue touches on a lot of these same notes, but is largely quite unique. With flashbacks taken from a film about his own life done by Baker (Hawke) put shoulder-to-shoulder with scenes from the "modern" day of Baker making his comeback, the film's narrative never feels stale. Instead, its focus on his drug abuse feels largely in-reflection as he tries to move past it. Yet, at the same time, it shows the siren call of the drugs and the feeling of inadequacy that haunts musicians who have convinced themselves they need the drugs to perform. While he most certainly still battles drug use in the "modern" day, the musings and explanation as to why it is addictive (beyond it being just naturally addictive) to talented musicians elevates Born to Be Blue above classic musician biopics. It does not just show him using drugs, which would be deeply affecting on its own. Instead, it takes it a step further and shows him doing drugs, while explaining why he uses them, which practically rips your heart out.

In the lead role, Ethan Hawke is tremendous. I do not know if it was his real singing voice (I assume the trumpet was not him, maybe I am wrong), but he was terrific. Even if none of the music was him, his performance was still terrific. He really brings Baker to you and makes you feel empathy for him as you watch his downfall, rise, and self-medication. From his portrayal, Hawke makes the viewer root for Baker, even if you know he will trip and fall over-and-over again.

Visually, the film is very good. With lush blue hues touching many of the shots, Born to Be Blue imbues the film with the sadness and heartache felt by Baker. As he performs, the film is most prominently covered with blue, showcasing how something that should bring him so much instead brings so much agony given the self-doubt and addiction that haunts him as a result. The jazz music score itself even proves quite haunting at times with solemn notes accompanying many scenes.

As a whole, Born to Be Blue is a pretty good film with a killer lead performance from Ethan Hawke, as well as terrific use of color and a unique approach to a well-trodden tale of drug abuse by musicians.