The Hottest State
by Ethan Hawke
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DVD details
Actor: Catalina Sandino Moreno, Daniel Ross, Jesse Harris, Mark Webber, Sonia BragaDirector: Ethan Hawke
Brand: THINKFILM LLC
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Subtitled); Spanish (Subtitled); English (Original Language)
Format: Color, Dolby, DVD, Full Screen, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen
Picture Format: 1.85:1
Running Time: 117 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2007-12-04
Audience Rating: R (Restricted)
Model: TF-55605
Studio: VELOCITY / THINKFILM
DVD Reviews of The Hottest State
DVD Review: You gotta lose those cowboy boots, William
Summary: 3 Stars
I like Ethan Hawke, and respect that he wrote a novel and directed the film, but The Hottest State just isn't very good. The main problem is that the protagonist, a thinnly veiled younger version of Ethan Hawke, has such pretentious dialogue that it is unwatchable. Poor Mark Webber. He grew up homeless, and then he gets the lead in a movie, but it turns out to be a doomed vanity project by Ethan Hawke. William Harding (Mark Webber) thinks he is clever and profound but he's neither. He is an actor who falls in love with Sarah (Catalina Sandino Moreno), a wannabe singer, who breaks his heart. If the author and director, Mr. Hawke, intends you to somehow be moved, then he has sorely miscalculated. How often must we watch the scene where the heartbroken suitor leaves countless phone messages, each one more desperate and stupid than the last? Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist started out with that scene, but at least it went somewhere, and the banter between Nick and Norah was infinitely more entertaining.
Catalina Sandino Moreno as Sarah was likeable enough, but the problem was the writing and directing, for which Ethan Hawke was solely responsible. On the other hand, there was a lot of good music, written by Jesse Harris, who also played a member of Sarah's band. It starts off with a song by Willie Nelson, written by Jesse Harris, and continues with lots of songs by Mr. Harris performed by either himself, Brad Mehldau, Norah Jones, The Black Keys, Leslie Feist, Emmylou Harris, Cat Power, Bright Eyes, M. Ward, or Tony Scherr. Sarah's singing is dubbed in by Rosario Ortega. Jesse Harris is the guy who wrote "Don't Know Why" for Norah Jones. The first time I saw him perform I was under whelmed, but then I expected a lot because that song he wrote for Miss Jones was phenomenal. His forte is more as a songwriter than a performer, it seems, but what a songwriter.
Ethan Hawke had a lot of good actors in this, like Laura Linney and Sonia Braga, and writer/directors Frank Whaley and Richard Linklatter have small parts. Hawke even pulls a Hitchcock himself, playing William's father in a few brief scenes. You'd think Frank and Richard could have helped him a little more, with some directing tips. Like why were all the shots in Texas and Mexico so overexposed? Was he trying to make Texas look like it truly was The Hottest State? The whole Texas thing was kind of a red herring, as very few scenes were actually in Texas or had anything to do with Texas. An example of poor directing by Ethan Hawke was in the scene where he imagines his parents meeting, which was in Texas. Jesse, his future mother, and her friend go for a ride with Vince and his buddy. They don't want to go, because it is a school night, but then they impulsively decide to go. As the car pulls out, you see two coke bottles, three quarters full. It is intended to show how quickly they decided to go, not even finishing their sodas, but why wouldn't they just take them with them? It was too staged, and the scene was almost as pretentious as William's dialogue.
Bottom line is I enjoyed parts of this movie, and aspects of this movie, but I couldn't say it was very good overall. Nice try, Ethan, but if at first you don't succeed, try, try again.
Reality Bites (1994) Ethan Hawke was Troy Dyer
Joe the King (1999) Ethan Hawke was Len Coles; directed by Frank Whaley
Synecdoche New York (2008) Michelle Williams was Claire Keen
Maria Full of Grace (2004) Catalina Sandino Moreno was María Álvarez
Bordertown (2006) Sonia Braga was Teresa Casillas
The Doors (Special Edition) (1991) Frank Whaley was Robby Krieger
The Squid and the Whale (Special Edition) (2005) Laura Linney was Joan Berkman
Kinsey (2004) Laura Linney was Clara McMillen
The Mothman Prophecies (2002) Laura Linney was Connie Mills
A Scanner Darkly (2006) directed by Richard Linklatter
Jesse: [after giving her son new shoes for his birthday] You gotta lose those cowboy boots, William. I worked too hard to get us out of Texas for you to go around in those things.
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