Ethan Hawke’s labor of love, a semi-autobiographical novel that was published in 1996, is now a film, which he wrote, directed and co-stars in. The Hawke-like character William Harding (Mark Webber) is a cute 20-something wannabe actor from Texas who lives in New York. Harding meets singer Sarah Garcia (Maria Full of Grace’s Catalina Sandino Moreno), falls madly in love with her, talks about said love with passion and eventually gets his heart broken. The supporting characters—essayed by familiar faces Laura Linney, Michelle Williams and Hawke himself—are all excellent, and the talky feel of the film is obviously something that delights Hawke, as we’ve seen it before when he starred in Before Sunrise and its follow-up, Before Sunset.

Shelf Talk: Hawke is the main selling point here, and the packaging certainly highlights his participation. His top-notch co-stars also will help to get a bit of buzz going. And let’s be honest here: Hawke’s female followers might very well get a thrill to see a fictionalized account of Hawke getting his heart stomped on.