Stream Selected Films of Ethan Hawke
Dead Poets Society 1989 Directed by Peter Weir. Academy Award Best Original Screenplay by Tom Schulman based on his own experiences. Unorthodox English teacher John Keating (Robin Williams) arrives at elite, conservative boys boarding school Welton Academy, turning hearts and minds upside down with his credo “make your lives extraordinary.” When Keating was a student, he founded the Dead Poets Society which the boys reconstitute, sneaking off campus to a cave where they read poetry and talk about life. Relationships with one another, their parents, girls, and the world change radically. A captivating watch.
With young Ethan Hawke, Robert Sean Leonard, Josh Charles, Gale Hansen, Norman Lloyd, Kurtwood Smith, Dylan Cussman, Allelon Ruggiero, Sam Waterston… Hawke’s third film. Rent on Amazon Prime.
Regression 2016 Directed by Alejandro Amenabar. Apparently based on real events, this psychological thriller finds rural Detective Bruce Kenner (Ethan Hawke) up to his neck in fallout from a series of secret Satanic Rituals. People commit violence they don’t remember, two young adults, Angela Gray (Emma Watson), who opens Pandora’s Box with a breakdown and her brother, Roy (Devon Bostick), recall childhood abuse by hooded covens including relatives; there’s a murder, an attempted suicide, and a large amount of florid, misdirected religion.
Kenner gets drawn in to a point of nightmares and paranoia or is what he’s experiencing actual? Between agonized screaming denial and scenes of devil worshiping ceremony, the piece is made for horror fans as well as those who like to deep dive into unnerving mysteries. Free with Amazon Prime.
Born To Be Blue 2016 Directed by Robert Budreau. An autobiographical portrait of jazz musician Chet Baker (Ethan Hawke). Set in 1966, the musician is hired to play himself in a movie about his earlier, heroin-soaked years. There’s attempted romance with actress Jane Azuka (Carmen Ejogo), a composite of those with whom Baker was involved, violence that puts him out of commission, struggles with methadone and the business. Though apparently taking liberties with facts, all over atmosphere and character are evocative and accurate. Hawke is terrific. Rent on Amazon Prime.
Maudie 2017 Directed by Aisling Walsh. A biographical drama. 1930s. Maud Downey (cinematic treasure Sally Hawkins) lives in Nova Scotia with her aunt and brother. She has crippling arthritis, equally crippling shyness and carries the grief of having lost a child seeded in rape. Told her brother has inherited and sold the house out from under her, she answers an ad for a cleaning lady placed by gruff, fish peddler Everett Lewis (Ethan Hawke – first rate). Maud agrees to room and board, but the shack is so tiny, the two have to share a bed.
Everett is monosyllabic and demanding. With no recourse, Maud makes the best of everything. To cheer up the shack, she begins painting shelves, then walls with flowers, birds, animals. The art is untrained and charming. When every surface is covered, she uses pieces of discarded wood and paper. One of Everett’s customers from New York buys a painting. Word gets out. The couple marry, Maud learns her child is not dead, her health degenerates. They never move from the shack.
In life, Lewis had a very small house, at 10 ft × 12 ft. Walsh wanted to be accurate in creating a replica, but the structure had to be enlarged to accommodate a film crew. Hawkins, a hobbyist painter, tried to duplicate Maud’s style. Poignant and oddly uplifting. Rent on Amazon Prime.
Tesla 2020 Directed by Michael Almereyda. The story of Nicola Tesla (Ethan Hawke), George Westinghouse (Jim Gaffigan), Thomas Edison (Kyle MacLachan), and JP Morgan; origins and battle for control of electricity; direct as opposed to alternating current…as narrated by JP Morgan’s daughter, Anne Morgan (Eve Hewson). A bit convoluted. More of an introduction. Rent on Amazon Prime.
The Truth (La Vérité) 2020 Written and directed by Hirokazu Kore-eda. Screenwriter Lumir (Juliette Binoche), son-in-law actor Hank (Ethan Hawke), and granddaughter Charlotte (Clémentine Grenier), have come to France to visit Lumir’s actress mother, Fabienne Dangeville (Catherine Deneuve). Fabienne has just written a book which romanticizes her past, including a close relationship with her daughter that never existed. The egotistical, insecure diva alienates friends, family and business associates. Nonetheless, she and Lumir eventually grow closer. The film lurches, but acting is good. Rent on Amazon Prime.
Woman in The Fifth can be found in Stream Selected Films of Kristin Scott Thomas.
Before Sunrise, Before Sunset, and Before Midnight all on Amazon Prime.
Top photo: Bigstock
