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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