Born to Be Blue

Chet Baker loses his teeth in an assault in the mid-sixties and playing the trumpet becomes physically impossible. The film covers his learning to play again from nothing, the methadone programme, and his relationship with a woman he meets on a film being made about him. Robert Budreau does not follow the biopic template; part of the events are invented and the film does not hide it, with the film-within-a-film structure making that visible outright. Ethan Hawke plays the part and sings in his own voice. Its idea is hard: the man has to choose between the woman he loves and the music, and his choice surprises nobody. The final scene is additionally painful for anyone who knows where Baker's real career went. Who it is for: viewers who like jazz history and portraits of musicians. Who it is not for: anyone expecting documentary accuracy.