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The Hottest State (2007) DVD Review
The Hottest State (2007) DVD Credits:
The Hottest State (2007) Directed by:
Ethan Hawke
The Hottest State (2007) Written by:
Ethan Hawke
The Hottest State (2007) Cast:
Catalina Sandino Moreno, Laura Linney, Mark Webber, Michelle Williams, Sonia Braga, Ethan Hawke
The Hottest State (2007) Released by:
Not available at this time
Region:
1
The Hottest State (2007) DVD Release Date:
4th December 2007
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The Hottest State (2007) Synopsis:

Adapted by Ethan Hawke from his own novel of the same name, "The Hottest State" is a bittersweet romance that distills the joy, pain, erotic highs, and emotional lows of first love. Ethan Hawke directs and co-stars in the film along with Mark Webber, Catalina Sandino Moreno, and Laura Linney. Days before his 21st birthday, William (Mark Webber), an actor, meets and quickly falls madly in love with Sara (Oscar-nominee Catalina Sandino Moreno), a seductive yet elusive singer/songwriter. The film follows William from a Lower East Side tenement to a Mexican hotel room to a snowbound weekend in Connecticut to a sweltering homecoming in the hottest state of all – Texas – in the pursuit of Sara. His stubborn and sweetly innocent quest to find someone who loves him as much as he loves her may not lead to happiness, but surely leads to newfound maturity.

The Hottest State (2007) DVD Review:

Ethan Hawke wrote his novel long ago, and an actor writing a book wasn’t as impressive as the poetic honesty of the text. In bringing the filmed version of the novel to life, Hawke wisely takes control, writing the script and directing, not to mention his brief role as the protagonist’s father. Writing the script and directing are obvious choices, as Hawke is able to accentuate all of the right mood points in bringing the novel to life, whereas anyone else may have just taken the key plot points from the novel. It is a poetic story, and Hawke is able to transfer the melancholy poetry from his text into a filmed version, with large chunks of the novel spoken in voice-over.

Although I can’t imagine Hawke’s novel has a huge following, those that have read it will appreciate that the author was able to write the screenplay and direct the film in perfect pitch with the mood of the book. Drifting carelessly from event to event in a simple heartbreaking relationship, the story is moved by emotions and memories, and this is captured well on film. The film, like the novel, is a collection of melancholy memories of a failed relationship and first heart-ache of twenty-one year old actor, William (Mark Webber). Most effective is the use of music in the film. It seems to drift with us from memory to memory, most often inhabited within the memory, although the score remains constant whether it is a Mexican guitar player, background music, jukeboxes or William’s aspiring singer girlfriend, Sara (Catalina Sandino Moreno). The ambient music flows in and out casually and uncontrived, in yet another way Hawke has turned film into a poetic art form.

We are told from the first scene that the relationship will end, and end in heartbreak, so every scene afterwards has a bittersweet quality is which we know the happiness will be fleeting. It is uncomfortable and a painful process to witness, as the effectiveness is likely to bring memories of similar experiences to viewers minds. Leading William along, however poorly, are his parents who are played by Hawke and Laura Linney. Their failed relationship serves as a source of William’s fascination with love and relationships. Ultimately it is the tale of a young man finding himself, and only through the destruction brought on by heartbreak is he able to re-build himself.

The DVD includes a short film “Straight to One” directed by Ethan Hawke, as well as a commentary track by the filmmaker and select crew members. It is an eclectic group of people and only occasionally does Hawke jump in with his own commentary and take over with insight.


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The Hottest State (2007) DVD review written by: Ryan Izay

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