Born to Be Blue

Jazz trumpeters are traditionally troubled souls. We've seen Miles Davis going ga-ga with a gun in Don Cheadle's Miles Ahead. Now here's Chet Baker, the "James Dean of jazz", the originator of West Coast jazz, battling personal demons to get his chops back after a drug dealer's brutal beating leaves his mouth wrecked and his playing ability severely impaired. The ever-dependable Ethan Hawke plays Baker, bringing his usual quiet intensity to the part. He's terrific. Just as good is British actress Carmen Ejogo, as the woman who bids to help Baker make his musical comeback. Filmed in a mix of coloured "present" and black-and-white flashbacks, Born to Be Blue is a brilliant, often brutal biopic that's cool for cats of any persuasion, whether jazz fans or otherwise.