Prismark10 It is really difficult to do something new about a jazz musician with a frenzied personal life be it women, alcohol, drugs or all three because it seems that all great jazz musicians had the same issues.Born to be Blue is a lower scale film but thematically not too different from Bird directed by Clint Eastwood back in 1988.Chet Baker was known for his west coast jazz sound. He also had problems with drug addiction and going in and out of prison. When he has his teeth smashed and has to wear dentures, Baker has to learn how to play the jazz trumpet again as well as stay clean when those around him are doubtful.Ethan Hawke gives a gut wrenching performance as Baker trying to start all over again as a musician when previously it had been all so easy. Now no one wants to give him another chance as he has let down so many people down in the past. The film though is low wattage and offers little new though.

zif ofoz 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.

Gordon-11 This film tells the story of a great jazz musician, who has an addiction to heroin. He tries to stay clean and get back into the music world, but doors don't reopen easily."Born to Be Blue" tells a heart wrenching story of a man who lives through tough times. He gets tremendous support from his wife, and their relationship is positive and touching. He works hard to make a comeback, and I find it so touching.The songs in the film are very good. I wonder if Ethan Hawke does all the singing, because he has this soothing voice which almost makes him the new Michael Buble. I enjoyed watching the film.

Tony Heck "Real talent always flourishes, but then there's the type that promises more than they can fulfill." Chet Baker (Hawke) is one of the best trumpet players in the world. He has played with Dizzy Gillespie and Miles Davis and can hold his own. After getting out of jail he attempts a comeback. Movies and music come back easy to him, until his drug habit takes over and everything he knows and has is threatened. This movie has two things going against it right off the bat. First, it comes out shortly after the Miles Davis movie with Don Cheadle. Second, this person is not nearly as well known as Miles Davis was. That said, I still like jazz and bio-pics so I was hoping this would be good. It is hard not to compare the two movies since I just saw the other one last week. I thought Miles Ahead was a little better, mainly because it seemed to move a little faster and there was more than just this happened to him, and then this happened. Neither of the movies however were amazing or classics along the lines of Ray or Walk the Line. What this movie had was terrific acting. I have never been a real big Ethan Hawke fan, but I really think he could get a nomination for this one. He is the reason to watch. Overall, a decent movie about a person I had never heard of but became interested as it went along. Hawke is the real reason to watch though. I give this a B-.