I think Ethan Hawk is terrible in everything, but of his body of work, he was the least annoying in this. I liked the movie a lot; I think I would've loved it, had somebody else played Finn. As far as his looks, I know that's subjective, but I've never been able to figure out his appeal - he's not attractive to me in the slightest.
"Are you going to your grave with unlived lives in your veins?" ~ The Good Girl

I agree with the OP completely.

While I didn't think Ethan Hawk was terrible in this, his character would sometimes during the Movie go around just saying "Estella" to different people like a lost puppy, and that was distracting.
But maybe that was the Directors instructions though.
Last games completed: - Homefront (360), - Fallout 3 (PS3)

Agreed.
The voice over is terrible too.
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agreed. loved the movie, and always stood by it, defended it when people say it's crap. but the presence of ethan hawk i simply can't defend. you just want to smack the guy. he's the weak link in this movie, for sure.

Hi.
Hate your signature.
And I don't even like Boogie Nights.
Never defend crap with 'It's just a movie'
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The problem most people has is that too many people (especially fans of the novel)hold the literature masterpiece of that to the movie, yet the director and writer of the of the film clearly wanted to steer to a different direction.
Exactly.

The problem most people has is that too many people (especially fans of the novel)hold the literature masterpiece of that to the movie, yet the director and writer of the of the film clearly wanted to steer to a different direction.
Perhaps another title would have suited it, but the overall intention of Ms.Densmore was to hold Finn to high expectations, asking him to overcome the strongest emotion in humans. He was set up to fail and did. Only years after until after a divorce that this game really clicked with Estella as she had her "expectations" for him also due to as she explained taught to play with men's emotions, and she felt remorse as implied in the ending. Overall point of Expectations that makes the title fit.
Hawke fit the character perfectly, but is portrayed much different then Pip. Adult Fin is more of a jerk to those around him as he has only one goal in mind after bumping into Estella. Fallen in love all over again. He is keen on not letting her slip away again. He isn't mature enough in relationships yet to separate his desire for Estella and his other "dreams" in life, thus as he pursues Estella, the others fail.. At the end when he goes back to vist Uncle Joe he has learned and makes amends, and now that he is ready, Estella comes back in his life "There she was.."
Help keep "Boogie Nights" off the top 250.

Hawke can be good in some things but he is dead-eyed in this TERRIBLE adaptation of the great Dickens classic. Please rent David Lean's faithful version - it is brilliant. This version gets EVERYTHING wrong - the screenplay is a mess. Yikes!!!

First,
You start out criticizing Ethan Hawke as the choice for pip - that's fine to be critical of his acting style - but then you tangentially go off into the plot and music.
I'll leave the music selection and plot out but will say that IMO - they were a top notch modern adaptation.
Second,
Now to to address Ethan Hawkes's acting. He's not in DiCaprio's class but I think he fit into the role well since he really captured the confused and hurt Pip that was trying to figure out Stella and at the same time win her heart only to be successful at neither.
My question to you is who would have been 'right' for this role? Which actor back then?

I know it's just your opinion and all but what are you talkng about?! Ethan Hawke gave one of the best performances of his career. He did great, what do you see that some of us dont?

Ethan Hawke was brilliant in this movie, so you're probably out of your mind. You shouldn't have anything against anyone.

the soundtrack is amazing. tori amos, poe, and mono? good in my book. it is a fresh, updated, and contemporary selection of great musical artists from a pool over very bad music in the 90's.
i thought ethan hawke was well cast as Pip. in the book, i always got the impression that Pip was naive, and could be conveyed on the dumb side by how often he was manipulated. hawke did a pretty good impersonation of what i gleaned from the original. Pip wasn't the brightest of coins, if my recollection is correct.

RE: Since artists usually focus most of their adult life on art, many of them simply can't be described as intelligent, even if they're actully very talented in a natural way.
-Whaaaat? As an artist myself who knows many other talented (and intelligent) artists, I say from experience: artist simply don't become good artists without intelligence. Contrary to popular opinion, good art takes thought; it isn't simply emoting away on canvas.
Carry on.

Well, I don't think Ethan Hawke is a bad casting here. You mentioned the boy playing the young Finn as intelligent and sensitive. I'll agree with you on the "sensitive" part, which i think Hawke projects the exact same sensitivity and vulnerability in the film. As for intelligence, I'm not sure. I've seen many smart and talented artists who can't pass as intelligent. It's sth that a smart kid will acquire through his adult life by proper education. Since artists usually focus most of their adult life on art, many of them simply can't be described as intelligent, even if they're actully very talented in a natural way. Based on a few Ethan Hawke films I've seen so far, I think he's a complicated and talented actor who could easily pass as an artist.
Indeed, the story is contrived on so many levels. But that's what you get when you try to adapt a classic into a modern piece, isn't it? It doesn't seem to be natural because it is not. I don't know if you have seen any other similar films that fall into this adapting genre (Romeo and Juliet, Hamlet, etc), and i think some of them make even less sense. I'd say they actually did a pretty good job on this one. They captured the core of Dickens' Great Expectation and managed to develop it into a pretty artistic story with some memorable scenes. Since I never expect much from a classic-to-modern piece, I'd gave this one a 7.

I think he did amazing in this film. I became a fan of his because of this film.
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