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third date 2019 ★★
Date from hell with not much else to offer.
The only moment that stands out is when she goes all Doctor Gordon on her hand.
Born to Be Blue 2015 ★★★★
Let's get this out of way first: I am “just” a fan. Someone who enjoys listening to Chet's music, his trumpet and his voice. Am I a connaisseur in any shape or form? No, I'm not. I have not really read any biographies or seen documentaries. So don't expect any claims about how wether or not Hawke has the mannerisms down or such and such.
What I can say, is that it's a beautiful tragic story about somebody with a unique, amazing talent and at the same time a self destructive personality stronger than himself. Than he can or wants to be.
I cannot say wether or not this portrayal of Baker is correct. A charmer with good looks who somehow always manages to get in his own way and unwittingly makes life hard for the people around him. With a final shot of Jane/Elaine echoing a line of the song “Hurt”: Everone I know goes away in the end. Which happened to be written by somone who, at that time, was struggling with his own drug demons.
But Ethan Hawke is certainly well placed to portray this type of character. He makes you sympathize with Chet, in spite of everything, and see what his few friends saw in him. At the end of the big dramatic scene, we see him in a dressing room with the choice between methadone and heroin. And I was struck by how part of me was going: don't do it, brother. Don't do it. Sidenote: as a fan of Pontypool, it was nice for me to see Stephen McHattie back as Chet's father.
It has a lot of beautiful music and performances. So the “superficial” Chet-fan has plenty to enjoy here too. And throughout the movie, I kept wondering wether Ethan Hawke did some actual singing here. Would give it an extra cachet, in my opinion. Leave a comment if you know more.
As I am writing this, I am struck by the fact that you can enjoy Born To Be Blue as a biopic, but also as a tragic love story, not unlike Leaving Las Vegas. So certainly worth your time, in perhaps more than one form.
Rorschach 2015 ★★
Spengler and Stantz in the field. No proton pack, no Venkman, no witty dialogue.
One or two somewhat disconcerting moments (hence the second star) between a lot of nothing and then... that's it? Alright.
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