When you’re fresh out of prison, you want to start getting your life back together and try and wrong the rights you did in the past. Well, Ethan Hawke (“Training Day”) looks to be taking on a considerable responsibility in “Adopt A Highway,” which premiered at the SXSW Film Festival earlier this year. Directed and written by actor Logan Marshall-Green (“Upgrade,” “The Invitation“), the film will see Hawke exit prison after 21 years inside, and after finding some work at a fast-food restaurant, he finds an abandoned baby, and he decides to look after the child.
This is the directorial debut of Marshall-Green, having made his name as an up-and-coming actor, he now turns his attention to behind the camera. Like his protagonist, adapting to a new role is the name of the game, and Marshall-Green apparently has some work to do there. In his review from SXSW, Griffin Schiller praised Ethan Hawke, but said, “‘Highway’ ultimately feels like the product of a first-time director still finding his footing.”
READ MORE: ‘Upgrade’ Revels In Bloody Revenge And Plot Simplicity [Review]
But it was clear Marshall-Green wanted to challenge himself, speaking to Den Of Geek, he spoke of how he did not want to write a film with cliché movie tropes. He said, “I knew as an exercise that I wanted to write a film that didn’t challenge us using the tropes that we see often in movies, which is sex and death, or violence, or drugs. I didn’t want to write a gun, sex, drugs, rock, and roll.” Then continued, “I wanted to see: Can I write a script that doesn’t compete using those tropes – that exists out of pure hope, and redemption, and love?”
It’s hard to argue with that, and the performance from Hawke is apparently outstanding, so there’s still value here. The film also co-stars Elaine Hendrix (“Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll”), Diane Gaeta (“Other People’s Children”), Mo McRae (“Wild”), and Chris Sullivan (“Guardians of The Galaxy: Vol. 2”).
Here is the synopsis:
Russ Millings has just been released from prison after serving 21 years for a 3rd strike conviction for possessing an ounce of marijuana. As he tries to adapt to a world he doesn’t recognize – including trying to learn how to use the internet – he finds an abandoned baby in a dumpster behind the fast-food restaurant where he works as a dishwasher. Unsure of what to do, and caught between impulses of kindness and panic, Russ soon realizes this could be his chance at redemption.
The film is being distributed by RLJE Films and produced by Blumhouse Productions. It will be released in cinemas on November 1. Watch the new trailer below.