Top 100 Most Anticipated American Indie Films of 2018: #95. Ethan Hawke’s Blaze

Blaze

You might want to keep an eye out for Ethan Hawke‘s fourth feature film, especially if you didn’t buy the bottle, down on his luck portrayal found in Scott Cooper’s Crazy Heart. While Hawke, the actor, needs no introduction, his filmography to date includes Chelsea Walls (2001), the adaptation of his own novel in The Hottest State (2006) and Seymour: An Introduction (2014). Here is an ear full on what we might find in this latest project.

Based on Sybil Rosen’s memoir Living in the Woods in a Tree: Remembering Blaze, and inspired by the life of Blaze Foley (newcomer Benjamin Dickey), the unsung songwriting legend of the Texas outlaw music movement that spawned the likes of Merle Haggard and Willie Nelson. The film weaves together three different periods of time, braiding re-imagined versions of Blaze’s past, present and future. The different strands explore his love affair with Sybil Rosen (Alia Shawkat); his last, dark night on earth; and the impact his songs and his death had on his fans, friends, and foes. A Sundance selection, Blaze might benefit tremendously from Hawke dabbling into the docu realm and having Chet Baker (2015’s Born to Be Blue) — and it doesn’t hurt to have a little acoustic guitar as a soundtrack.

Release Date/Prediction: As predicted, this was selected for the Sundance Film Fest’s U.S. Dramatic Comp section.