Overview
A re-imagining of the life and times of Blaze Foley, the unsung songwriting legend of the Texas Outlaw Music movement.
During my recent review of A Star is Born I lamented that the movie did not have more grit. In that review I mentioned how I wish that the movie was grittier along the same lines as Blue Valentine. And voila, here is such a movie.
First things first: this is Ethan Hawke’s directorial debut and it is fantastic. The film is based on a true story and I’ve often had a hard time watching biopics because the films get bogged down trying to tell the whole story in a very linear way. Hawke uses multiple story lines and timelines to tell a story that is at different times funny, touching and heartbreaking.
Second: the acting, singing and songs are fantastic. I would go so far as to say that the songs are actually better than those from A Star is Born.
And finally maybe the most impressive part of this film is that it is about a folk singer and Hawke made it feel as though the film actually is a folk song. The last scene is terrific and really drives home this theme.
IHATEBadMovies.com reviews Blaze
Movie title: Blaze
Movie description: A re-imagining of the life and times of Blaze Foley, the unsung songwriting legend of the Texas Outlaw Music movement.
Date published: 2019-02-20
Director(s): Ethan Hawke
Actor(s): Ben Dickey, Alia Shawkat, Charlie Sexton, Josh Hamilton, Kris Kristofferson, Sam Rockwell, Steve Zahn, Didi Costine, Ritchie Montgomery, Richard Linklater, Jenn Lyon, David Kallaway, Kevin Wayne, Jeff Caperton, Penelope Costopoulos, Martin Bats Bradford, Mitch Craft, Brett Beoubay, Laura Costine, Edgar Arreola, Thomas Mark Higgins, Kayla Carraway, Charles Barber, D. Taylor Loeb, Robert Larriviere, Martin Covert, Rey Reynaud, Ethan Hawke, Adam Brazy, Robert Casiello, Calen Curtis Edwards, Elliott Estelle, Leslie Bauden Fleming, Gloria Gonnillini, Treylan Gonsoulin, Victoria Hardway, Jency Griffin Hogan, Stephanie Davis Holmes, Steve Kish, Rick LeCompte, Wyatt Russell
Genre: Drama, Music, History
My Review
During my recent review of A Star is Born I lamented that the movie did not have more grit. In that review I mentioned how I wish that the movie was grittier along the same lines as Blue Valentine. And voila, here is such a movie.
First things first: this is Ethan Hawke’s directorial debut and it is fantastic. The film is based on a true story and I’ve often had a hard time watching biopics because the films get bogged down trying to tell the whole story in a very linear way. Hawke uses multiple story lines and timelines to tell a story that is at different times funny, touching and heartbreaking.
Second: the acting, singing and songs are fantastic. I would go so far as to say that the songs are actually better than those from A Star is Born.
And finally maybe the most impressive part of this film is that it is about a folk singer and Hawke made it feel as though the film actually is a folk song. The last scene is terrific and really drives home this theme.
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My Review - 9/10
9/10