Blaze

OK, this more properly goes in the singer/songwriter thread, but tony and others have some anti-spam work to do there first.

Ethan Hawke’s film Blaze, with q/a after, played to a sold-out house at Nash’s Belcourt Theatre last night. I quite recommend it; Nashville may be the first city outside of Texas to receive a screening.

Alynda Segarra (sp?) from Hurrah for the Riff Raff sings “Drunken Angel” over the closing credits, with Lu duly listed as songwriter as the credits are ending. It’s a fine job; Alynda also plays Blaze’s sister.

Hawke brought up Lucinda’s name in the course of the q/a session, in the context of pointing out how many singer/songwriters he wanted to involve in the film.

Gurf Morlix portrays a character by the name of Gurf.

Hawke didn’t give Charlie Sexton many drunken or comic scenes as Townes Van Zandt, which pleased me. There is some of that, but mainly Sexton is framed reflecting on Blaze to a radio DJ, shortly after Blaze’s death. And I’m afraid “a senseless bar altercation” is not how it went down; let’s give Lu the same license in song intros maybe that she has for the penning of the lyrics themselves.

Kris Kristofferson has maybe four words in a hospital scene as Blaze’s father, but oh boy it’s him.

Blaze’s girlfriend/wife Sybil is every bit as intriguing a character as Blaze. Her source book and co-screenwriter status are evident, without seeming self-serving. Both leads did some fine acting.

I wish I had seen the documentary by Kevin Triplett which preceded this fiction/dramatization by a few years.