Ethan Hawke’s first novel, which provided the basis for this movie, got awful, awful reviews. (Just awful.) A 1997 Kirkus review called it “an extended hissy fit” and said, “Skip the movie, if there is one.” They were wrong — not about the book (which we thought was … awful) but about the film, which is surprisingly compelling. The skeleton is still there: childish man gets dumped by romantic woman. But Mark Webber and Catalina Sandino Moreno (who we got to talk to!) deliver a kind of Linklaterian and surprisingly self-immolating take on how not to break up.