Ethan Hawke’s 10 Best Movies, According To Letterboxd

Fresh off his villainous turn as Arthur Harrow in the popular Disney+ series Moon Knight, four-time Oscar-nominated actor Ethan Hawke is poised to appear in Robert Egger’s Viking tale The Northman on April 22, 2022. With a handful of other projects currently in the works, Hawke continues to be one of the finest and most versatile actors of his generation.

With nearly 100 big and small screen credits amassed since his making his screen debut at 14, Hawke has worked with some of the finest actors and directors in Hollywood, with Letterboxd particularly favoring his collaborations with the great Richard Linklater.

10 Gattaca (1997) – 3.7/5

Written and directed by Andrew Niccol, Gattaca remains a riveting and enduring sci-fi tale ahead of its time. Co-starring his soon-to-be-bride Uma Thurman, the film follows Vincent Freeman (Hawke), a man deemed too genetically incompetent for space travel, who swaps identities with a much healthier specimen (Jude Law) to realize his long-held dream to traverse the cosmos.

With salient statements on the nature of identity, the efficacy of eugenics, the moral quandary therein, all wrapped in the veneer of a touching love story, Gatta sees Hawke soar at one of his highest cinematic moments.

9 Mea Maxima Culpa (2012) – 3.8/5

In Alex Gibney’s difficult but necessary expose of the pedophilic practices of the Catholic Church, Mea Maxima Culpa: Silence in the House of God, Hawke voices a character named Pat in a dramatic retelling of the facts. The film won three Primetime Emmys for its potent subject matter.

Hard to watch but justified in its existence to foster positive change in the church, the movie makes Hawke’s performance in First Reformed six years later even stronger and more admirable. The most effective medicine is often the hardest to swallow, and Mea Maxima Culpa is the cinematic equivalent.

8 Waking Life (2001) – 3.8/5

In what will become an exhausting refrain, Hawke’s professional collaboration with Richard Linklater comprises the upper echelon of the actor’s filmography. In Waking Life, a deep philosophical rumination about what it means to be human, Hawke reprises his role of Jesse from the beloved Before Trilogy.

With groundbreaking rotoscope animation and a star-studded supporting cast, Waking Life calls to mind Linklater’s Slacker and A ScannerDarkly, with Jesse providing a strong connective tissue between the director’s entire oeuvre. His interaction with Celine (Julie Delpy) four years after they first meet resonates like a few onscreen character reunions.

7 Training Day (2001) – 3.8/5

While Denzel Washington deservingly walked away with Oscar gold for his ruthless role in Training Day, much of his powerful performance wouldn’t work as well without the opposite turn from Hawke as his wide-eyed yet underestimated young partner. Aside from their iconic quotes, the alchemy of their screen chemistry is why the movie still works 20 years later.

Directed by Antoine Fuqua, the film follows corrupt L.A.P.D. narcotics officer Alonzo (Washington) as he takes his new partner Jake (Hawke) on a tour of the brutalities the job entails. Hawke earned the first of four Oscar nominations for his role as the morally-stricken do-gooder.

6 Boyhood (2014) – 3.8/5

Going by release date, Boyhood marks the ninth and most recent time Hawke worked with Richard Linklater, for which both earned Oscar nods. As original and ambitious an idea as there has ever been, the film chronicles the granular year-by-year growth of Mason (Ellar Coltrane) and his sister Samantha (Lorelei Linklater) as they come of age in Texas.

Hawke gives a tender and touching performance as a loving father dealing with divorce from Mason’s mother Olivia (Patricia Arquette in an Oscar-winning role), navigating his own adult pitfalls and professional triumphs. Watching the actors authentically age gracefully onscreen is truly inspiring.

5 First Reformed (2017) – 4.0/5

Hawke gives arguably his most commanding and unforgettable turn in First Reformed, Paul Schrader’s ticking timebomb of a character study. Caught at an existential crossroads during a severe crisis of faith, Reverend Ernst Toller (Hawke) becomes increasingly unnerved in the wake of climate change, a local tragedy, and the 250th anniversary of the small church he operates in rural New York.

Trenchant, unpredictable, and deeply unsettling, Hawke earned several awards for his performance despite failing to earn an Oscar nod. The final 15 minutes of the film are absolutely nerve-shredding, reminding audiences that Schrader (who did get nominated) and Hawke are still at the top of their game.

4 Before Midnight (2013) – 4.1/5

Spoiler: three of the next four Hake films belong to Richard Linklater’s peerless romantic Before Trilogy. The third and final iteration, BeforeMidnight, is set in Greece 9 years after the events in Before Sunrise. Jesse (Hawke) and Celine (Julie Delpy) are finishing vacation with her two daughters from a previous relationship, where they severely push the limits of their intimate bond.

Naturalistic and realistic as can be, many think the loose, casual dialogue between Jesse and Celine is improvised, but every word is tightly scripted. It’s a real testament to Hawke and Delpy’s contributions as co-writers (both earned Best Adapted Screenplay Oscar nods), stellar actors, and alchemical screen partners, who make their partnership feel so authentic and alive.

3 Dead Poets Society (1989) – 4.2/5

Few films are as uplifting and inspirational as Peter Weir’s Dead Poets Society, thanks in large part to the late great Robin Williams’ heartfelt turn. However, without Hawke’s timorous turn as Todd Anderson, the unforgettable lines and touching teachings of his English professor wouldn’t resonate as long.

The film not only celebrates the written word but also encourages daring individualism among youngsters too afraid of challenging the status quo. The rebellious spirit that Todd unlocks thanks to his time in class is movingly motivational, with Hawke giving a precocious performance far wiser than his years.

2 Before Sunset (2004) – 4.3/5

Nine years after Celine stood Jesse up during their annual reunion, the two meet in Prague to catch up and rekindle their relationship. That is the central conceit of the all-time great romance movie Before Sunset Before Sunset, the second leg of the Before Trilogy that sets itself apart by the real-time chronology that unfolds in the film.

When Jesse reveals he has a plane to catch, the movie counts down the time between Jesse and Celine’s reunion and his harried decision to stay or catch the flight and return to his unhappy life. This real-time framing adds urgency and immediacy to Jesse’s decision to stay or leave, with Hawke and Delpy effortlessly slipping into romantic roles they originated nine years earlier. As they did with Before Midnight, Hawke and Delpy shared Academy Award nominations for Best Adapted Screenplay with Linklater.

1 Before Sunrise (1995) – 4.3/5

Jesse and Celine met for the first time by random chance on a train from Budapest to Vienna in Before Sunrise, the best Ethan Hawke movie to date according to Letterboxd. Simply walking and talking together until the sun comes up, the intimate bond that the two make overnight couldn’t feel more real or romantic.

Inspired by a similar evening Linklater spent in Philadephia during his 20s, the film captures the movie magic of young love like few others, leading to a lifelong personal and professional relationship for Hawke, Delpy, and Linklater that far transcends the quality of the movie itself.