Lord of War (2005)

Written, produced, and directed by Andrew Niccol, this is a superb crime drama with flashes of black comedy. 

Nicolas Cage plays Yuri Orlov, an arms dealer who becomes hugely successful while turning a blind eye to the damage caused by the weapons he sells. He has a cocaine-addicted brother (Jared Leto) and a fashion-model wife (Bridget Moynahan). Meanwhile, he is being pursued by Interpol agent Jack Valentine (Ethan Hawke).

The deadpan, almost satirical quality gives the subject matter even greater gravitas. 

There’s a remarkable opening sequence filmed from the perspective of a bullet.

Gattaca (1997)

Quietly profound thriller set in a near-future world where genetics are everything. People are graded as “valids” or “in-valids”, depending on their genetic profile. Ethan Hawke plays Vincent Freeman – a man whose “defects” (a weak heart) prevent him realising his dream to go to space. He impersonates Jerome Morrow (Jude Law), a valid who was paralysed in a self-inflicted accident. Uma Thurman plays a work colleague who falls in love with “Jerome”, not realising he is really an imposter. Gore Vidal plays their boss – the mission director with a dangerous agenda of his own.

The film asks complicated questions about the ethics of genetic engineering. It also looks at ambition, human identity, nature vs. nurture and brotherly love.

The “sci-fi” premise is nicely offset by the visuals, which are 1950s-themed. The retro-futuristic look is stylish and believable.

It builds to a surprisingly emotional ending.

Boyhood (2014)

Dazzling drama written and directed by Richard Linklater (who also made the excellent Before... films). It was filmed across 12 years, so you see a family literally growing and growing older before your eyes. It’s uncanny and very powerful.

Ellar Coltrane plays the boy, who we get to know at various points from ages six to 18. Lorelei Linklater (the director’s daughter) is his smart, pushy sister. Patricia Arquette and Ethan Hawke play their divorced parents, trying their best in life and love and finding that just as difficult as we all do. All four of them turn in stunningly believable performances.

It’s very touching indeed – heartbreaking, funny and enthralling. There are so many threads and it’s an incredibly rich narrative, although never complicated. Each time-snapshot segment works like a short story in its own right, but then we leap forward a few weeks, months or years and see how each episode feeds into the next.

I can’t imagine how a project this ambitious could have been planned and executed so skilfully, but Linklater pulls it off.

Before Midnight (2013)

The third in Richard Linklater’s masterful trilogy, following Before Sunrise and Before Sunset. Celine and Jesse are nine years older and wiser: now a couple with twins, they are on holiday at a Greek villa. Jesse has just reluctantly sent the child from his previous marriage back to his mother in the USA and this – plus the looming end of the holiday – brings on contemplation of life, family, love and mortality.

Unlike in the first two films, we get to see the couple in a group setting: for one extended scene – an evening meal with friends at the villa – we witness their “public” behaviour. It’s a clever way to reveal a different side to the couple.

But the real emotional centre of the film comes when the couple share one night alone at a local hotel. The anticipated night of passion and freedom soon takes a less romantic turn as they are forced to face up to the fact that the passing years have allowed resentments to build up while life decisions were being made. It’s to the great credit of Julie Delpy and Ethan Hawke that they make it as real as possible and it’s remarkable how convincing their chemistry has become, whether it’s during their moments of intimacy or the argument that follows.

It’s fascinating being able to revisit this couple every nine years, but I am left hoping that there won't be further instalments. This trilogy is so perfectly judged and it now feels complete.

Before Sunset (2004)

Every bit as charming as Before Sunrise, if not more so, this sequel picks up the story of Jesse and Céline nine years later. They meet in Paris and discuss their personal situations and what’s happened to them since that life-changing encounter in Vienna. And they slowly reveal how they feel about each other as they grapple with how their past may inform their future.

I loved the long, single-take scenes as they wander in Paris, and also the fact that the film appears to take place in real time.

Julie Delpy and Ethan Hawke both seem to give richer performances than in the first film. They are so natural in the roles that you wonder if they are even acting.

The romantic and touching ending, with Céline singing one of her songs and offering an extended Nina Simone impression, is an absolute delight.

Before Sunrise (1995)

Young American man (Ethan Hawke) meets young French woman (Julie Delpy) on a train while they are both travelling in Europe. Mutually attracted, they spontaneously agree to leave the train at Vienna and spend a day together. The film details what happens next, mainly via their touchingly earnest conversations as they wander around the city, getting to know each other, encountering various walk-on characters and beginning to fall in love.

I really like Richard Linklater’s long takes, which feel semi-improvised – particularly the one in which the couple take turns playing pinball while talking, switching places each time they lose a game. This scene would have been different every time the actors ran through it, so you get a feeling that it’s special.

There’s something refreshingly different about the pacing and the convincingly “real” dialogue. And it’s very romantic. It’s enchanting to see how young and idealistic they are.

Two sequels would follow: Before Sunset (2004) and Before Midnight (2013).