by Robbie Jones
If Easter has left you a bloated mess, and all you want to do is relax and enjoy yourself with as little movement as possible, maybe it’s time to indulge in the filmography of Ethan Hawke, one of the finest actors working today. Since he was 12 he’s been handing in great performances, and with his new time travel adventure Predestination hitting shelves today, let’s take a look at the man’s best work.
Honourable Mentions: Lord of War, Sinister, Daybreakers, Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead and Alfonso Cuaron’s stunning contemporary adaptation of Great Expectations.
If Easter has left you a bloated mess, and all you want to do is relax and enjoy yourself with as little movement as possible, maybe it’s time to indulge in the filmography of Ethan Hawke, one of the finest actors working today. Since he was 12 he’s been handing in great performances, and with his new time travel adventure Predestination hitting shelves today, let’s take a look at the man’s best work.
Honourable Mentions: Lord of War, Sinister, Daybreakers, Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead and Alfonso Cuaron’s stunning contemporary adaptation of Great Expectations.
Dead Poets Society
Kicking off our list is the film that pretty much kicked off the man’s career. In Dead Poets Society, an 18 year old Hawke plays Todd Anderson, a shy student studying at an all boys school, where he’s taught English by the eccentric and unorthodox John Keating (Robin Williams). Hawke delivers a stunning performance, but the film is best remembered for the performance of the late Williams, considered to be one of his best and even garnering him an Oscar nomination. Dead Poets Society is a breathtaking film, with an excellent script and great direction from Peter Weir.
Gattaca
Up next is 1997 Sci-Fi hit Gattaca, which focuses on a future where babies are genetically manipulated to ensure they are healthy and skilful in later life. Vincent (Hawke) was born outside of this manipulation, and due to this is not capable of living his dream of going into his space. Determined to get there, he makes a deal with Jerome Morrow (Jude Law), a swimmer who suffered a back injury, where he uses his DNA to convince everyone that he’s Jerome, and qualified for the mission. Gattaca is a hugely engaging film from start to finish, with excellent performances from Hawke, Law and Uma Thurman, and an incredibly interesting concept to work with.
Boyhood
Like I even need to tell you about this one, it’s all we heard about for the first two months of 2015. Richard Linklater’s most recent masterpiece cleaned up during awards season, including a Bafta and Golden Globe for Best Picture, and rightfully so. The film, shot over a 12 year period, follows the life of Mason Jr. (Ellar Coltrane) from ages 6 to 18 as he goes through the trials and tribulations of growing up with his sister (Lorelei Linklater) and his divorced parents (Hawke and Patricia Arquette). The title might be Boyhood, but it’s also about motherhood, brotherhood, sisterhood and fatherhood. This coming of age tale is an absolute masterpiece, a beautiful depiction of youth and life itself, and the performances are outstanding all around, most notably from Arquette who sweeped up the awards at pretty much every show going (And gave one hell of a speech at the Oscars), whilst Hawke himself garnered several nominations though he was always pipped to the post by J.K. Simmons. Nevertheless, it’s one of finest performances.
Training Day
Antonie Fuqua is a very hit and miss director, though he misses more than he hits. The Equalizer and Shooter are some incredibly dull action films whilst others such as Olympus Has Fallen received hugely bad critical reception. However, in 2001 he certainly hit the fucking mark when he made Training Day. Ethan Hawke plays Jake Hoyt, a rookie LAPD officer who must be assessed by Alonzo Harris (Denzel Washington) over the course of a day. However, Harris is a dangerous cop who isn’t at all what he seems, and Hoyt finds himself experiencing the wildest 24 hours of his life. Training Day is a masterpiece of a film, so well shot and completely tense and exciting. Denzel picked up a Best Actor Oscar for his performance and rightfully so for he is out of this world, perhaps his best performance to date, and Hawke got his first nomination for Best Supporting Actor for his also stunning performance.
Before Sunrise/Sunset/Midnight
Finally, we need to talk about perhaps one of the best film trilogies of all time, Richard Linklater’s Before trilogy. If Linklater was Shakespeare, Hawke would be Laurence Olivier. The two have made several films together and are arguably one of the best director/actor collaborations of the past 20 years. The films, set and released 9 years apart from each other, detail the relationship of Jesse (Hawke) and Celine (Julie Delpy), who meet on a train and spend a day with each other in Vienna, where they fall in love. The films are incredibly minimalist; they consist mainly of the pair walking around and talking, but what’s brilliant is just how natural it all feels. A common trope of the romance genre is the cliche’d dialogue between star crossed lovers, however Linklater’s scripts don’t feel artificial at all. They feel like real conversations that real people would have, and that’s what makes the films so involving. Hawke and Delpy are excellent in all three films, and their chemistry is amazing, perhaps one of the most believable on screen couples ever. If you’re a romantic, or if you just appreciate fine cinema, check out the Before trilogy and you won’t be sorry.
What Do You Think?
Those are our picks for the best Ethan Hawke movies, do you agree?
Are there any other Ethan Hawke films you love?
Let us know in the comments!
Predestination is out on DVD and Blu-Ray now
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