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Traditional biopics go through the motions, hitting all the perfectly rehearsed notes until even the most fascinating life has been transformed into a bland composition. Writer-director Robert Budreau wanted to challenge such played-out conventions with the Chet Baker feature Born to Be Blue.
"Jazz is an improvisational art," says Budreau, "and I think, to remain true to the spirit of jazz and the spirit of the character, we had to stray from the traditional biopic."
Rather than awkwardly cramming Baker's entire life into a film, Budreau focused on a period in the 1960s when Baker's career saw a rebirth following his brief recovery from heroin addiction.
"When I heard his comeback story and the themes of addiction," says Budreau, "I really just got into Chet Baker as an interesting character in an interesting time to explore."
Budreau drew from jazz, using facts as familiar refrains to touch base with and stray from rather than as rigid rules. The result is a new type of biopic that captures the essence of the artist while winking to the audience that some scenes are just for fun.
It opens with black-and-white footage of Baker's dark hallucinations and the temptations of sex and heroin, but those scenes are just the setup for a big f-you for anyone expecting another customary biopic. Even Jane (Carmen Ejogo), Baker's van-dwelling, hippie love interest in Blue, is not based on one specific person. Her character is an amalgamation of the many women who passed through Baker's life. While it would be nice to see what the real women in Baker's life were like, or how he treated the people who loved him, or how difficult his recovery was, Baker was a heroin addict who had to rebuild his aperture from scratch, and movies can only be so long. A little improvisation here works just fine.
Ethan Hawke as Baker brilliantly captures the cracked vocal inflections and withered demeanor of the addled jazz legend. Even in the film's darkest scenes, in which Baker struggles to choose between sobriety and drug-induced inspiration, Hawke adds a sense of excitement that's worthy of the talented performer. There's wonder in the desperation when we see Baker bleeding from the mouth in a bathtub as he practices the trumpet.
Critic's Grade: B+
SEE it: Born to Be Blue is rated R. It opens Friday at Living Room Theaters.
Willamette Week