DVD Reviews
DVD Review: The Hottest State
By Jeff Swindoll
Dec 28, 2007, 12:36 GMT

Ethan Hawke’s second directorial effort is based on his own novel.  Frankly, I can’t say that the film was worthwhile and found it rather boring.  However, it’s not a total loss since the soundtrack is excellent and will fit nicely in your listening library – the same can’t be said for the film unfortunately.  

William (Mark Webber), a young struggling actor, meets Sara (Catalina Sandino Moreno) and falls head over heels in love with her.  She appears to return his affections to a degree, but it’s pretty obvious that she has some issues.  The two spend an extended vacation in Mexico, but when William spends a week away on a film shoot he returns to find that the relationship has changed. 

The two break up and William obsesses over Sara and basically stalks her.  He goes to his divorced parents (Ethan Hawke and Laura Linney) for advice and guidance but it’s not like they were able to work out their differences in the first place.  

I wonder if the novel by Hawke had more revelations that we, the film viewer, are not party to.  I can’t say that I’m familiar with it, but there seems to be some things going on that we don’t know about.  Sara obviously has issues from the moment we see her.  She appears to be distant, but is also prone to moments of romance. 

William is prone to use Tennessee Williams as a pick up line and seems rather awkward.  These two opposites attract and William thinks that he’s got it made.  We also think he’s got it made during their extended sojourn in Mexico.  However, a phone call to Sara’s mom expressing a desire to get married seems to set things on a downward spiral when mom appears to approve of the union. 

This appears to be the death knell of the relationship since Sara appears to do the opposite of what mom says (we really don’t know that mom says since we don’t hear that conversation).  Love is blind and William doesn’t appear to see the odd behavior that Sara exhibits.  It does catch up with him when he shows up early from his acting gig and she isn’t exactly happy to see him.  From what the movie shows, love is also bland. 

I never really jelled with either character and in the end was really pretty indifferent to what happened to either of them.  William goes through an extended stalking of Sara, which doesn’t exactly help his situation or the audience’s sympathy with the character either.  What is great is the soundtrack from Jesse Harris, which is excellent but the film that it’s in just didn’t do anything for me.  Buy the soundtrack.  

The Hottest State is presented in anamorphic widescreen (1.85:1) and enhanced for 16x9 televisions.  Special features include a commentary from writer/director Ethan Hawke and his crewmembers.  You also get “Straight to One (1994),” Hawke’s first directorial effort as well as the theatrical trailer for the Hottest State, and a collection of other ThinkFilm DVDs.  

The Hottest State appears to be a competently made film, but the characters and storyline fail to heat up.  Maybe Hawke should’ve tried other material than his novel since something seems to be missing to make this a compelling film.  

The Hottest State is now available at Amazon. It is available for pre-order at AmazonUK for a Jan. 28th release. Visit the DVD database for more information.