Excellent, Without a doubt!!

This story has more twists and turns than a second-rate soap opera.

It’s not bad or unwatchable but despite the amplitude of the spectacle, the end result is underwhelming.

All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

This was an excellent production, well done, well acted and well produced with some creative cine-shots. But it is disturbingly dark. Lady Sings The Blues was similar but it didn't have the dark undercurrent of this piece. I never knew much about Chet Baker so I can't comment on its accuracy.(Judging from other reviews here, it is much more fiction than fact.) There is very effective intercutting of black and white (the past) and colour (the present.) The F-word is over used and the sex scenes are a bit too graphic, too long and too frequent. I was interested in the Canadian credits and to find out here much was shot in Sudbury and Espanola Ontario, hardly Hollywood North. Overall, it's a worthwhile watch. But expect a downer

This film, partly biography, partly fiction, is a dreamy portrayal of Chets struggle to stay clean and get back to the top after losing his teeth in a fight and not being able to play anymore. There's a lot of romance in here, but not in a corny way. Romantic love helps him stay clean, switching from one kind of high to another.The cinematography is beautiful, as well as the set dressing which gives the movie a nice sixties feel. The music is great, as it should be. I love the fact that Ethan sings the songs, it shows great bravery and contributes a lot to the feeling of the struggling artist. He captures the Chet-haze almost perfectly. Being an admirer of Chet Baker and Ethan Hawke I'd been looking forward to 'Born to be Blue' for a long time. It took me a while before I could finally see it, but it was worth the wait and I will certainly watch it over and over.

Great photography, good direction and decent acting gave substance to this movie, which unluckily suffered from a poor script. The plot is too diffuse and the characters appear to be poorly structured. While the idea of showing Chet Baker during his struggle to regain ability to play the trumpet is okay, the film focuses too much on the role of his relationship with Jane in his comeback. To the viewer it is never really clear why this relationship started and on what it is based on. Chet is presented from one direction, he doesn't really change during the movie and he is never really introduced, this leaves a gap that makes it harder to follow the character in his struggling.

Born to Be BlueThe key to being a successful musician/drug addict is picking the most lucrative genre in which to perform.Unfortunately, the strung-out artist in this drama chose Jazz.Failing to pay his drug debts, jazz heartthrob Chet Baker (Ethan Hawke) has his front teeth kicked in in front of his new girlfriend (Carmen Ejogo). Unable to play his horn he must now answer to a parole officer who requires him to find a real job.While he agrees to undergo drug treatment, Chet refuses to give-up performing, even though his new affliction leaves him sounding like an amateur.While Hawke turns in a remarkable portrayal of the embattled Baker, the Baker he is depicting isn't the real Chet Baker, but a fictional account of the addict that uses his bumpy history and embellishes it with substantial poetic license. Besides, junkies make the worst fans because they never leave after the concert. Yellow Lightvidiotreviews.blogspot.ca