Rating (3 out of 5)

As with most Biopics, always interesting to learn about people’s lives, especially artists, and to see what drove them and how they bounced around life.  This biopic was just a bit slow for me and lacked a wee bit of focus.

This biopic is about Blaze Foley (Ben Dickey), a country artist who died in 1989 at the age of 40.  While the movie does include bits about Blaze’s music career the focus is his relationship with his true love, Sybil (Alia Shawkat).

What I Liked: How centered around the Outhouse recording was cool.  This is a famous recording (if you are in music circles, I had to look it up), and as he sings a song, they flashback to different parts of his life. The one hour of songs from the recording at the Outhouse is really good, but would delighted to hear the full two hours.

As I read around about Blaze’s life in different articles (see this article).  This movie seemed to be more accurate than some other Biopics that I have seen.  The introduction where Blaze and Sybil meet at the artist community and their life in the treehouse.  This sequence, definitely set the mood for a change when they moved to Austin and how the switch must have been difficult for their relationship.

What I Didn’t Like:  There seems to be so many different aspects to his life, especially on the music side that they didn’t cover.  The record deal and concerts, what happened that the oilmen went bankrupt.  It was sort of glossed over.

The overall pace was a tad slow.  I think part of the issue was lack of focus on the music career or love.  I understand it must be hard, even in a 2 hour movie to cover.  But maybe some of the background on him had to be sacrificed to cover their relationship more.

Conclusion: If you are a fan of music you will definitely like this movie.  This movie has sparked my interest in Blaze, and I will at least listen to his music.  However, if you are just a casual viewer, pass on this film.