I really enjoyed Ethan Hawke's The Hottest State (2007), based on his short 1996 novel. It's sort of like Marc Webb's 500 Days of Summer, but with more depth. Sure, there's the pitiful young love romance between stronger independent woman and hapless needy sapling man out of his depth aspect, but there's also more complexity in observing intergenerational family dynamics at work. Colombian-born Catalina Sandino Moreno, who was powerful as the lead in Maria Full of Grace (2004), gives Sarah Garcia, her character in The Hottest State, a certain amount of gravitas lacking in Zooey Deschanel's Summer Finn. Sonia Braga is sharp and memorable as Sarah's mother, and Laura Linney plays the hapless dude's mother as a strong person with Existential outlook. Michelle Williams plays said dude's semi-ex-girlfriend nicely. Mark Webber is very believable as a 20-year old meathead; so is Ethan Hawk as his father, living in Texas. It's a visually colorful movie and sports an interesting mood soundtrack that includes the Black Keys' "If You Ever Slip."
"Don't be so moody. A lot of bad shit is gonna happen to you. . . And listen, you’re going to die, relatively soon, okay?. . . So, that being said, there’s not much to worry about. No matter what happens in this life, you really only have two options: you can either handle things well and be happy, or you can handle them poorly and be miserable -- it's up to you."
Today's Rune: Harvest.
1 comment:
I tend to like Ethan Hawke quite a bit in the things I've seen him in. He seems to have some chops.
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