Film Review: The Hottest State

I'd been looking forward to this film, an adaptation of Ethan Hawke's first novel for quite some time. Put it this way, I'm glad I didn't read the book or I would have given up after ten minutes. Largely plotless, it focussed on the relationship between Micheal (supposedly a young Ethan I guess, but he looked way too much like Paul Kaye for my liking) and Sarah, his girlfriend. Although similar in style to the amazing Richard Linklater movies Before Sunrise and Before Sunset, it lacked a lot of the charm, and I found the characters pretty much unlikable. Throw in a bunch of pretentious supporting characters, a plodding plot, and some slightly ropey dialogue and you get mildly bored.
There were some good points to the film, namely Ethan being in it, and some very spot on observations about the nature of heartbreak, the pain of someone you love turning into a different person, and absent fathers/ drunk mothers. There were certainly many parts you could relate to, and some touching moments. I think the main problem was it felt about half an hour too long. Also, WHY did she fall out of love with him? But maybe that was the point, sometimes you just don't know. And there's fuck all you can do about it.
If anyone has read the book and found it a rip-roaring read, do let me know.