I am not a jazz fan really and can take or leave trumpet playing especially.
However, this was an OK film, though hardcore fans will probably be annoyed with it. But I don't mind at all that the actors are not exact lookalikes of the real people - acting in movies cannot be judged entirely on that. It's not Madame Tussaud's!
To be honest, all I knew about Chet Baker was that he played jazz trumpet, was a heroin addict, and died after a fall from a hotel room in Amsterdam in 1988 (probably suicide) - this last chapter is not portrayed in this movie, sadly.
He also played the BRILLIANT trumpet solo of Elvis Costello's shipbuilding.
A watchable biopic for a general audience.
3 stars.
Ethan Hawke is excellent as Chet although he does not look anything like him.I liked the jazz as it is not often played
nowadays.Being hard of hearing,I missed most of Ethan words-too softly spoken.It did not really show Chets
womanising & his many relationships but a reasonable film.
If like me you grew up in the 50s listening to Chet Baker, this abysmal film will leave you frustrated and disappointed.
Don’t go near it. Ethan Hawke looks nothing like Chet Baker or a jazz musician.... and as for Miles Davis.
Read ‘Deep In A Dream: The Long Night Of Chet Baker’ and/or watch the 1988 feature ‘Let’s Get Lost’. They both do justice to the phenomenon that was Chet Baker.
This lightweight movie is a travesty.