Shot in black and white, this documentary about Chet Baker begins on a beach in Santa Monica. Chet and friends act-out a perfect image of 'carefree': spinning, arms outstretched, that kind of thing. That put me off a bit. I'm not very good at carefree. The whole film is beautifully shot though and there are some pretty honest reflections on Chet by his ex's and children he rarely sees. Chet himself is pretty elusive, or forgetful, or both. He's only in his fifties (not long before he accidentally fell to his death from a hotel balcony) but he looks close to the end of his life already. The film itself and how Chet is revealed in this film has a nostalgic, romanticised feel, though maybe this is heightened by the beautiful filming. Like the contrast between black and white, the film contrasts the young Chet through some great archive footage of him looking beautiful with Chet now, ravaged by drug abuse. His voice, consistently ethereal and wonderful, is contrasted with the stories of his greedy, cheating, manipulative, destructive ways. However, for all the bad he has done in his life, everyone, including the director, seems weirdly to forgive him.
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