The Hottest State

Soon after relocating from Texas to New York in a bid to make the big time, a 21-year-old actor enters into a turbulent relationship with a struggling singer/songwriter in writer/director Ethan Hawke's screen adaptation of his own debut novel. William (Mark Webber) is an aspiring actor with dreams ...more

Ethan Hawke has always taken himself too seriously, and his roles -- especially his collaborations with Richard Linklater -- have left him shamelessly enamored with talky bohemian romances. These combined factors could have made The Hottest State an exercise in pretentious naval-gazing. After all, Hawke is adapting his own novel, and his sophomore turns as screenwriter and director represent the first time he's had such control over one project. What's more, he's clearly fashioned the ...more