User reviews

"Blue Moon" is quintessentially Richard Linklater. A film with heavy dialogue but rich in character and depth.

Some might call this film boring, but what helps keep engagement levels is a strong performance by Ethan Hawke accompanied by a decently written screenplay.

The entire film feels like a theatre play brought to life on the big screen. It takes place in one bar but manoeuvers through conversations with different characters each with their own quirk.

I think what makes this film shine is Lorenz Harz (Hawke). A poor soul at the end of his time clinging to his past successes. A lonely man wanting love. As a film progresses, we learn more about our main character increasing our empathy and sadness for him.

In saying this, it is a film that struggles to reach the heights to call it a masterpiece. I feel like it's structure and style hinders it's ability in doing so.

I also will mention that I think Margaret Qualley was not strong enough in the female lead. With someone with not much dialogue, I felt like a stronger presence was needed to bring her character to life.

All in all, a decent movie but nothing to get too excited about.

7/10.

I have a passionate interest in musical theatre history, especially the post-World War II period. If you fall into this category, I think you'll really enjoy this movie despite the fact that it's not very cinematic. If, however, you couldn't care less about this subject, you'll be wondering what the heck was that? This is the story of the final days of wunderkind lyricist Lorenz Hart, who wrote the lyrics to some of the American Song Book's greatest songs, like "My Funny Valentine," "Where or When," "I Didn't Know What Time It Was," "My Heart Stood Still," and of course, "Blue Moon." Hart and composer Richard Rodgers had a string of hits from the 1920s into the 1940s. Both of them were heavy drinkers, but Rodgers was able to control his better. With the passage of time, Hart, according to Rodgers, became impossible to work with, so he found a new lyricist, Oscar Hammerstein II, who had already had a long career with other composers, including Sigmund Romberg, Rudolf Friml, as well as an especially fruitful collaboration with Jerome Kern. (When Kern died, Hammerstein also needed a partner.) Hart sank further and further into alcoholism. This film takes place on the opening night of OKLAHOMA, which ushered in a new era in the American musical theatre. It was a true landmark (although some might argue successfully that SHOWBOAT really did). The party takes place at Sardi's and Hart is there early talking to the bartender and the pianist, while waiting for the curtain to come down on opening night so the party can begin. He knows it's going to be a huge hit, bigger than any success he had with Rodgers. He's understandably envious. The fist half of the film is basically a monologue with Hart (played by Ethan Hawke, who is not ideal casting) recapitulating his history and his crush on a young socialite/college student who is also the daughter of one of the leaders of the producing powerhouse, The Theatre Guild. He gets drunker and drunker as he talks. The girl is played by up-and-coming actress Margaret Qualley (THE SUBSTANCE and HONEY DON'T). Her role is very minor up until the last half hour of the film, when SHE has a long monologue. As you can probably tell, this is not very cinematic material. It's more like a play by Eugene O'Neill where nobody ever has an unexpressed thought, especially when their tongues are loosened by alcohol. Hart adores the girl, but he is basically gay. And she knows it. And that's the gist of the film. If you're already a musical theatre fan you'll like this movie, but if you're not, you'll probably be bored out of your mind.

Blue Moon You saw me standin' alone Without a dream in my heart Without a love of my own

Ethan Hawke makes himself almost unrecognizable to play Lorenz Hart, the man who wrote those words.

Hart was five-feet tall, balding, a cigar always in his mouth, his back so curved his chin barely clears the bar at Sardi's where he spends most of the movie "Blue Moon" yakking away. His sad - if witty and sometimes brilliant - monologues are performed for bartender Eddie (Bobby Cannavale), piano player Knuckles (Jonah Lees) and assorted folks who stop by the legendary Broadway celebrity hangout one fateful night in 1943.

Showcasing the alcoholism and other sorts of self-destructiveness that would kill him at age 48 seven months later, it's a daring, all-in performance by Hawke. It's already getting buzz this awards season.

Whether or not it nabs an Oscar nomination or two, it won't win many hearts in audiences looking for a fun night out at the movies.

With composer Richard Rodgers providing the melodies, Lorenz Hart penned the sophisticated lyrics of countless Great American Songbook staples. Along with the movie's title tune, there was "Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered." "My Romance." "Manhattan." "My Heart Stood Still." "The Lady Is a Tramp." And on. And on ... close to a thousand songs.

For two decades Rogers and Hart were a dynamic duo on Broadway and Hollywood. Piano bar songs on the soundtrack offer nonstop tribute to their musical glories, with echoes of contemporaries like the Gershwins, Cole Porter, Harold Arlen, Irving Berlin and even George M. Cohan.

Unfortunately, Robert Kaplow's script doesn't immortalize Lorenz Hart for all his achievements, but instead, for being the man who didn't write "Oklahoma!" Richard Linklater is once again Ethan Hawke's go-to director, confining the film's action essentially to one set, unfolding in something like real time on the night of March 31, 1943. For America, in those uncertain early years of World War II, that was the night "Oklahoma!" opened on Broadway and changed everything.

Rodgers and Hart were still a team when they began adapting the play "Green Grow the Lilacs" into a musical. Unfortunately, Hart's habit of going on weeks-long benders instead of showing up for work finally pushed Rodgers to his breaking point. As luck would have it, another lyricist was available. His name was Oscar Hammerstein II.

The rest, as they say, would become history, not just on Broadway but on community theater and high school stages to this day.

Lorenz Hart was in the audience for "Oklahoma!'s" opening night. But the corn as high as an elephant's eye, not to mention the dancing cowboys and the exclamation mark at the end of the title were more than his urbane Manhattan sensibilities could take. So he retreated to Sardi's for some lubricated self-pity an hour before the creators of the show, along with adoring first nighters would arrive to await the reviews.

Those reviews proved to be raves, hardly a recipe for improving Lorenz Hart's state of mind. His conversations with Richard Rodgers (Adam Scott), basking in triumph, are heartbreaking.

Among all the self-deceptions Hart concocts to help make it through the night, is his torrid passion for Elizabeth Weiland (Margaret Qualley), an aspiring stage artist and daughter of the president of the theater guild. Half his age and his devoted protege, her final admission that she doesn't have those feelings for him is just one more knife in the heart.

The fact that Hart was, in fact, gay in those closeted times certainly wouldn't do much to change those feelings on Elizabeth's part. But when he confides to Richard Rodgers that he is in love with her - "everyone is" - he speaks from the heart.

Insecurities, self-doubt and fear are as integral to the creative process as the exhilaration and joy of success. Hawke's portrayal uniquely illustrates the torture not of a has-been, but of what could have been.

Following last year's brilliant Bob Dylan biopic "A Complete Unknown," "Blue Moon" is a reminder that creative genius is not something that a handful of people possess ... but something more akin to a curse that possesses them.

Lorenz Hart was a lover of love, an appreciator of beauty, a chaser of make-believe. Unfortunately, the ability to find perfect words for these wonderful emotions doesn't translate into finding them in real life.

Soon after I began my freshman year at George Mason University in the mid-1990s, a new book titled THE COMPLETE LYRICS OF LORENZ HART entered the GMU library's collection. Through this and similar books I (who was already a musical theatre fan) became particularly interested in the Broadway musicals of the 1910s through the early 1940s; among the lyricists of that period, my favorite was Lorenz Hart whose collaboration with composer Richard Rodgers commenced in 1925. From such Rodgers and Hart recordings as the 1983 revival cast CD of ON YOUR TOES and the 1989 studio cast CD of BABES IN ARMS, I formed an impression of Hart the lyricist as equally witty to Cole Porter yet melancholier and more self-deprecating than the suave Porter ever was. These qualities of Hart's style seemed to stem from his perceived personal troubles: the quintessential outsider, he was Jewish (which would have made him an outcast in certain non-theatrical circles), short, homely, an alcoholic, and perpetually unlucky in love. While Hart unsuccessfully pursued many women, he was rumored to be gay-a rumor he himself neither confirmed nor denied-as well as something of a voyeur. The same emotional baggage that made Hart's private life miserable makes him a natural movie character; of the two movies that have dramatized Hart's life, 2025's BLUE MOON is the darker and more thought-provoking film.

Whereas 1948's WORDS AND MUSIC (an MGM production with Mickey Rooney as Lorenz Hart) surveyed Hart's heyday as a lyricist, BLUE MOON shows him on a particular night in 1943, the final year of his life. Having ceased to work with Richard Rodgers after a disagreement, he attends the premiere of OKLAHOMA!, Rodgers' first hit musical with his new lyricist Oscar Hammerstein II. This rather brave act of Hart's is undermined by his churlish, sour attitude at Sardi's Restaurant where most of the film is set; as he waits for Rodgers and Hammerstein and their guests to arrive for the opening-night celebration, Hart denigrates OKLAHOMA! To anyone who will listen-namely, a bartender who tries not to serve him alcohol and a young pianist who is on leave from military duty in the ongoing World War. When Rodgers, et al. Do pour in, much of Hart's cynicism vanishes and we see how desperate he is to reconcile with Rodgers and resume their collaboration. We also see how desperate he is for one last chance at romance when Elizabeth Weiland, a blonde Yale theatre student whom he has been "mentoring," arrives for a rendezvous with the sadly washed-up middle-aged lyricist.

BLUE MOON is extremely well acted, with Ethan Hawke giving the performance of a lifetime as Hart. At times the screenplay seems less like a movie and more like a theatre script-one that contains, in my opinion, far more profanity than is necessary to convey that Hart is a wag and is bitter about the fact that Hammerstein has replaced him. Perhaps the screenplay's best aspect is that it offers a convincing counterpoint to Hart's complaint that OKLAHOMA! Is too corny to be great art, when Rodgers argues (I'm paraphrasing here), "Well, but the audience and most of the critics adored the show. Who are you to say that they don't know a good musical when they see one?" To be sure, the supposedly maudlin OKLAHOMA! Contains considerable darkness in the character of Jud, an outcast who might be said to resemble Hart in some ways. Though the movie never mentions this as a possibility, I wonder if Hart in real life saw something of himself in Jud and then sought to hide this recognition behind vehement criticism of OKLAHOMA! (Here I'm assuming that the actual Lorenz Hart disliked the show; I had always heard that he loved it-but, as he does in BLUE MOON, he may just have been concealing his dislike before Rodgers so as not to appear jealous of Hammerstein.) Regardless, I feel that a lesson BLUE MOON aims to teach is that one's artistic judgment ought ideally to be kept free of personal biases.

Although I am not at all sorry I saw it, BLUE MOON struck me as too relentlessly negative in tone to be a movie I'd want to watch multiple times. I was going to say that I would have preferred to see a modern film about Hart when he and Rodgers were writing hit musicals; but even a movie of this kind could not possibly avoid dealing with the addictions that, for example, compelled Rodgers to lock Hart in his room at New Jersey's Stockton Inn so that Hart would finish writing the lyric to the song "There's a Small Hotel" (ON YOUR TOES) rather than disappear on a drinking binge. BLUE MOON, therefore, can at least be commended for depicting Hart truthfully: as a brilliant, sensitive lyricist whose inability to achieve equanimity in his personal life eventually encroached on his professional life.

I just saw "Blue Moon" as part of the Philadelphia Film Festival and was very impressed. However much I loved the film, I do realize it's NOT a crowd pleaser as the film is about a long-dead and mostly forgotten lyricist, Lorenz Hart. I am familiar with Hart's life and work...which is probably why I loved the movie.

The movie is set six months before Hart's early death at age 48. Hart is at the theater seeing the opening of Rogers and Hammerstein's "Oklahoma" but Hart leaves just after it starts, as he thinks the play stinks...but knows it will be a huge hit. The reason he came at all is that Rogers was his writing partner for many years and only recently did Rogers team up with Hammerstein.

The entire rest of the film consists of Hanging out in a bar...awaiting the celebrations planned there for Rogers and Hammerstein. During this time, he is VERY talkative and it's almost a one-man show, as Hart talks and you're able to piece together the pieces of his life...a life lost too early, sadly, to booze.

While this sounds like an awful and depressing story, it works very well...almost like a play. Ethan Hawke is simply amazing as the loquacious lyracist...and I was mesmerized by his witty and insightful comments. I also appreciated some of the supporting actors, such as Bobby Cannavale as Eddie the bartender. A final thing to love was the music...most of which are Rogers and Hart tunes which will appeal to fans of old Hollywood and Broadway. Overall, a terrific film and I'd be shocked if Hawke isn't nominated for the Best Actor Oscar.

Watched at the 2025 Toronto International Film Festival.

A good charming and funny dialogue driven story about a self-destructive artist and character study with a wonderful performance from Ethan Hawke.

Richard Linklater is a master of dialogue driven storytelling and character study, and here, he continues to demonstrate and display his strong tactics with his direction for the atmosphere and tone. Alongside with the beautiful production designs and the setting, as usual, the dialogue is charming. The way characters interact with one another and the chemistry between the cast brings out a lot of funny moments, strong chemistry and energy. All thanks to the great performance from Hawke, Andrew Scott, Margaret Qualley and the rest of the cast.

The narrative, while admittedly it isn't the grandest story ever to be constructed, is a good observation about Lorenz Hart and his mental self-awarenwss crisis during the opening of his famous play. Understanding his emotions and the tension was pretty interesting and engaging to observe. The musicial score is good, the camera work is good, and the atmosphere is stunning. Although I do wish some of the pacing does improve especially towards the second act.

Overall, while it isn't the best work Linklater has made. Its a good hangout kind movie.

Director Richard Linklater's "Blue Moon," a dramedy about Lorenz Hart, derives its name from the most famous song Hart ever wrote with composer Richard Rodgers. Writer Robert Kaplan's script is filled with crackling dialogue, sophisticated accent notes, rich undertones and an observant narrative style that celebrates Hart's brilliance with words while also sympathizing with the tragedy of his personal life.

It's March 31, 1943. Hart (Ethan Hawke) has arrived early at Sardi's to fête former writing partner Richard Rogers on the opening night of his new show "Oklahoma!" It's a melancholy night for Hart, who is agonizingly aware that his own unreliability has forced Rogers to find a new collaborator. As audience members, we know that Rodgers and Hammerstein will go on to become Broadway's most celebrated creative team, while Rodgers and Hart will never be equally appreciated.

Using Linklater's typically meandering narrative style, the film offers a slow-tempo celebration of Hart's humor, insight and intelligence. But it also excavates and explores the pain beneath his sardonic observations and clever wordplay and it foreshadowing the self-destructiveness that will end his life seven months later. Hart skewers "Oklahoma!" for its cornpone sensibility and heart-on-its-sleeve emotion, while simultaneously recognizing that the show will be adored by audiences and run for years. He has a conversation with EB White (author of "Charlotte's Web") and takes a couple of minutes to give White the inspiration to write "Stuart Little." More importantly, Hart's conversation with the erudite White provides a forum for deep discussion about art while offering glimpses of Hart's insecurity and humanity. Finally, there's considerable time devoted to Hart's wildly implausible (but true) infatuation with Elizabeth Weiland (Margaret Qualley - Andie McDowell's daughter), a 20-year-old Yale student on whom Hart lavishes gifts, rapt attention and unalloyed adoration, despite his general affinity for men. It's a story simultaneously confusing, crisply written, insightful, mournful, funny and tragic. For anyone with a soul, it's a film that will inspire thought and reflection well after the closing credits roll.

Andrew Scott has received critical attention for his portrayal of Richard Rodgers, whom he portrays as a character who is disgusted by Hart's alcoholic benders while still appreciative of Hart's skills and instincts as a wordsmith. There's also an undertone of condescension as Rodgers realizes he is moving onward and upward, without Hart. But for my money, it's Hawke and Qualley who steal the show here. There's a lot of camera wizardry (kudos to Cinematographer Shane F. Kelly) for Hawke's portrayal of Hart, who was balding, 4'10" and old well beyond his 47 years. Even so, Hawke disappears convincingly into the role. For Qualley, playing a gorgeous, self-absorbed twenty-something requires zero dramatic range. But she's so open, honest and thoughtful that she infuses believability into her role as the idealized love interest of a man more than twice her age.

The plot of "Blue Moon" is best summarized by its opening lyrics: "Blue moon, you saw me standin' alone, without a dream in my heart, without a love of my own." The film is a heartbreaking tribute to Lorenz Hart. It's also a cautionary note about the fragility of art and some of the artists who spend their lives creating it.

Ethan Hawke really gets to show off his theater chops in what's essentially a one-man show about Broadway lyricist Lorenz Hart, trying to remain relevant to any who'll listen one night in 1943 at Sardi's. But despite the witticisms and urbanity Hawke is essentially one-note in his patter, and you eventually start to feel like Sarah Connor's dream in T2, clinging to a chain-link fence and being flailed to the bone by his nuclear, non-stop desperation. It's nice he and Linklater have a longtime devotion to each other and have stretched out into this new territory for their as always dialogue-heavy collaborations, but you'll be heading to the bar for some welcome cirossis long before little Lorenz corners you with his next needy, horrifying salvo of yammering.

Blue Moon opens with quote from Oscar Hammerstein about Lorenz Hart: "He was alert and dynamic and fun to be around." Frustratingly, the movie then goes on to depict Hart as the kind of crashing bore you'd do almost anything to escape. For almost the entire running time Larry is engaged in a self-indulgent monologue about himself, with endless boastful references to his lyrical triumphs interspersed with his disdain for various rivals. There's nothing at all "fun" about it, unless you're inclined to revel in this kind of bitterness and self-flagellation. Ethan Hawke's performance as Hart - aided by a shaved head and greasy combover - is the kind of masturbatory turn finely calibrated to win admiring reviews and award nominations, even as it renders the character ever more insufferable, and finally loathsome. The one scene in which Hart isn't obsessed with himself has him obsessed with his beautiful 20-year-old "protege", with whom we're supposed to believe he is hopelessly in love (a notion perilously based on Hart's actual correspondence with Elizabeth Weiland). While writer Robert Kaplow and director Richard Linklater seem to have convinced themselves that this is believable, I seriously doubt any gay viewer or anyone appraised of the wisdom and self-awareness evident in Hart's lyrics will buy it for even a second. The scenes with Elizabeth, which so desperately strive to be poignant, not only ring hollow, they leave one wondering why a movie about Hart, who was unquestionably gay, needs to try so hard to convince us that he could also love a woman. I suspect I know why, but let's not go there. Suffice to say, this kind of archness is evident throughout. At one point, a young boy with Oscar Hammerstein, who the cognoscenti will guess is supposed to be Stephen Sondheim, is improbably rude about Hart's "sloppy" lyrics - an observation made decades later by Sondheim in his scholarly critiques of other lyricists. In the same scene Hart quips that "weighty affairs will just have to wait" - a quintessentially Sondheim lyric from A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to The Forum. Yes, it's that kind of wank-fest. But never mind, if that's not your idea of hilarity, watching the extremes to which Linklater goes to emphasise Hart's shortness may have you in stitches. Even sitting on a high bar stool, Hawke somehow still looks like one of the seven dwarves. But it's not a complete waste of time. If nothing else, Blue Moon left me with a new appreciation of the oft-derided 1948 film about Hart, Words and Music. That movie may also have stretched credulity to the limit, but Mickey Rooney was at least vaguely likeable.

Blue Moon (2025) is a biographical comedy drama movie directed by Richard Linklater and it follows a songwriter as he reflects on himself on the opening night of Oklahoma!, a new musical by his former colleague. This is a movie that I had my eye on for a while because of Richard Linklater and the movie was really good.

Positives for Blue Moon (2025): I like the initial setup and premise of the movie taking place in one setting and having characters talk about stuff. I also liked the costumes design and makeup to have these people look like they're from a different decade. The acting from the cast is really good specifically Ethan Hawke, Margaret Qualley, Bobby Cannavale and Andrew Scott. The pacing is really good and it feels like the movie is taking it's time with the storytelling. And finally, the old school music is really good.

Negatives for Blue Moon (2025): Aside from seeing these characters talk about music, nothing else really happens in the movie. I did enjoy seeing these people talk, but it was just that for 100 minutes. I also don't see this movie work for casual audiences at all. And finally, I was waiting for something big to happen and nothing happened.

Overall, Blue Moon (2025) is a great movie that will be enjoyed by fans of Richard Linklater, but casual fans will have a hard time getting invested which is fine because this movie isn't for them. I would recommend this if you're a fan of Richard Linklater and the story.

Ethan had a great performance and tried his best to carry this movie with character alone. There are some funny crude jokes throughout, and some good dialogue, but what little plot there is fails to keep your imagination interested till the end. It has an anti-hero with an anti-plot, which just doesn't seem to work. It explored his flaws and character well, but pretty much ignored his talents. If I were Larry watching this I'd just be embarrassed really.

"Blue Moon (2025) walks in wearing the costume of a high-tension thriller-every early scene is staged as if something big is about to break. The problem is, the film is far more interested in pretending it has suspense than actually delivering any. By the halfway point, you keep telling yourself, 'Okay... now. Now something's finally going to happen.' But each time, the movie simply shrugs and calmly keeps drifting along its utterly ordinary path-a path with no twists, no shocks, and not even the courtesy of a modest climax.

When the film finally ends-quietly, effortlessly, almost lazily-you're left wondering what all that manufactured anticipation was even for. It feels like being promised a grand revelation only to receive a very dry, very underwhelming: 'That's it.'

To be fair, the performances are the shining islands in this sea of non-events. Ethan Hawke and Margaret Qualley carry their roles with enough nuance that, had the story bothered to lift a finger, the outcome could've been entirely different. Even the dialogue occasionally rises above the film itself-sharp, weighty exchanges that almost make you forget the plot is fast asleep.

In the end, Blue Moon is a film with real potential that opens the door to something meaningful, holds you there in anticipation... and then quietly closes the door again and says, 'Alright, you can go now.'"

Blue Moon isn't a loud or dramatic biopic; it's a calm, melancholic night trapped inside the mind of a man who realizes the world is moving on without him. Ethan Hawke is fantastic here; he plays Lorenz Hart with such softness, bitterness, humor, and heartbreak that you can almost feel the weight on his shoulders.

The whole film has this serene, almost dreamlike atmosphere; a smoky bar, gentle music, people drifting in and out of conversations while a broken artist tries to hold himself together. It's amusing at times, calming in its rhythm, but underneath it all there's a quiet tragedy that makes the film linger.

Not perfect, but definitely memorable. A beautifully acted, elegant little character piece.

"Blue Moon" is a historical drama about the abandonment and downfall of an artist!

This film narrates the life of a famous American songwriter who, after many years of collaboration, is abandoned and cast aside by his friend due to addiction, chaos, and emotional crises.

The performances are really good and relatable.

In Hart's character, the yearning and need for love and acceptance are clearly evident.

Andrew Scott has also skillfully portrayed the feelings of compassion,despair, and concern for a friend in the character of Richard.

The narrative progresses in a dialogue-driven manner with a slow pace, giving it a theatrical feel.

This approach focuses more on words than depicting events, cannot be successful in this genre.

The audience becomes tired after a few minutes.

Greetings again from the darkness. Most everyone, especially lovers of Broadway musicals, knows the work of Rodgers and Hammerstein. And they should. Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II are regarded among the most prolific musical production writers in history. Their projects include "The King and I", "Carousel", and "The Sound of Music". Their first collaboration, "Oklahoma!" is at the center of this latest from acclaimed director Richard Linklater (his NOUVELLE VAGUE coming out this year) and writer Robert Kaplow (ME AND ORSON WELLES, 2008). Yet we can't help but wonder why so few are familiar with the work of Rodgers and Hart. Together, composer Richard Rodgers and lyricist Lorenz Hart wrote more than one thousand songs, including "My Funny Valentine", "The Lady is a Tramp", and of course, "Blue Moon."

An opening title card provides quotes made about Lorenz Hart. The first describes him as "fun", while the second states, "he was the saddest man." The contrast is startling. We first see Ethan Hawke as Lorenz Hart as he stumbles and collapses in a dark alley. We then flash back seven months to March 31, 1943, the opening night of "Oklahoma!" on Broadway. Hart leaves the production before it's over and heads to Sardi's, where he plants himself at the bar, conversing with Eddie (Bobby Cannavale), his favorite bartender. This kicks off one of the more dialogue-heavy movies we will likely ever see ... fitting for a man who excelled at assembling words.

It takes little time for us to recognize Hart's bitterness and envy towards his former partner's (Rodgers) success with a new collaborator (Hammerstein). He's alternatingly condescending and profane ... until Richard Rodgers (Andrew Scott) shows up and Hart turns on the fake charm. For a single setting film (rare in movies, not so rare in live theater), this one is surprisingly complex. Hart's sexuality is hidden much better than his alcoholism. In fact, Rodgers offers to work with him again for a revival of their "A Connecticut Yankee" - but only if Hart stops drinking and behaves professionally towards their work. These are the issues that previously divided them.

Adding yet another layer is the presence of Elizabeth Weiland (Margaret Qualley). She has charmed 'Larry', who claims to love her ... although he states, "everybody loves her." Their relationship is askew, as he adores her and likely wants more, while she wants him to introduce her to the great Richard Rodgers. Also in the mix is a terrific sequence between Hart and the "Charlotte's Web" writer E. B. White (Patrick Kennedy). Their wordplay nears competition and ends with what would be a Stuart Little idea. Periodically drawn into the evening's progression is Sardi's house pianist (Jonah Lee), who idolizes the work of Rodgers and Hart. As if all that isn't enough, we get interactions with future director George Roy Hill (David Rawle), whom Hart counsels to concentrate on friendships (i.e., Butch and Sundance), and an obnoxiously whip smart young theater protégé named Stevie (Cillian Sullivan as teenage Stephen Sondheim).

Seemingly an odd casting decision for a short, Jewish, alcoholic man who is both miserable and talented, Ethan Hawke is absolutely terrific as Lorenz Hart. Alcoholism may destroy a partnership, and true love may constantly elude him, yet Hawke allows us to see the genius within. Hart would be dead just a few months after this painful (for him) opening night of "Oklahoma!" ... leaving little doubt that his all-time favorite line was fitting: "Nobody ever loved me that much." (from CASABLANCA) Opening nationwide on October 20, 2025.

This film would have been better served as a play than a film. Though it has the sacred trinity of continuity of space, time and action, the writing style (Linklater's tell don't show approach) is at home in a play, and a challenging watch on screen.

Props to Ethan Hawke who makes some clunky, exposition heavy dialogue work through the charm of a reminiscing, full-of-himself oldie, but he's ultimately distracting a person meant to be not good looking enough to suspect that a girl ever really liked him (and the forced perspective stuff to make him look 5 feet was also distracting). Peter Lorre, just as an example would have made the same role genuinely sympathetic.

Look out for cameos, Sondheim, EB White and George Roy Hill all make appearances, but you'll be forgiven if you miss them all.

In a perfectly captured setting of an upscale New York Broadway bar, Larry Hart waits to congratulate his former musical partner of 25 years - who is to arrive for a reception celebrating the smash hit Oklahoma, written with Rodger's new lyricist, Oscar Hammerstein. Fighting to suppress his desire for excessive shots of bourbon, jealousy at Rodger's success, and his distain for the corniness of Oklahoma's lyrics, Ethan Hawke gives a bravura performance. As does everyone in this film. Hart, with a sardonic gay wit, alternates between self-pity to dagger sharp insight into the nature of hope and love. The film is more of a perfectly crafted and paced play. Ten minutes from the end, one is left thinking what kind of ending would match the pace of this film - and they bring it off perfectly. This is a remarkable film.

By Ian Chandler - October 29, 2025

Blue Moon, directed by Richard Linklater and written by Robert Kaplow, was among my most anticipated pictures of the year. With dazzling production, gorgeous cinematography, top-notch acting, and an interesting topic, the film had every reason to be an endearing presentation. However, this documentation of its subject, Lorenz Hart, ends up being an embarrassing mix of sharp, thought-provoking conversations and overwhelmingly juvenile dialogue. The constant switch between the two approaches--with no transition, no less--diminishes the film greatly. Blue Moon may remain an interesting, beautifully crafted film about the bitterness of Hart, but it is not nearly as magnificent or as intelligent as its trailer suggests.

In terms of production, Blue Moon boasts a wonderful atmosphere, rich in 1940s period detail and memorably attractive color grading. From the elegant costumes and large, detailed set pieces to the calming music and an unrecognizable Ethan Hawke, the film immediately immerses you within its first five minutes. It also benefits being a slow burn drama that attempts to peel back the layers of Hart's intense jealousy. The pacing is not fast--contrary to the critic quote on the poster--but it glides at a delightfully consistent speed. It, however, it says surprisingly little despite taking its time. Even so, there is enough substance found in the characters that it never becomes a boring picture.

The highlight of the film by far is the acting. Ethan Hawke, in particular, transforms into his role--it is surprisingly easy to forget it is him. He captures so many nuances with his character that if the film wins one Oscar, it should go to Hawke for Best Performance. Andrew Scott, Margaret Qualley, and Bobby Cannavale are also splendid, keeping pace with Hawke's indelible performance. Their collective commitment to lighting up the screen, in theory, could have made Blue Moon a most entrancing picture. The drama can be tense, engaging, and reflecting; however, the messy screenplay gets in the way of a favorable impression.

Kaplow's writing is simultaneously some of the best and worst work I have seen this year. When it has tender, thoughtful, mature conversations, it reminded me why I drove over forty miles to see it. I will be stealing some of its best quotes without shame, if that says anything. It is also occasionally funny, with some remarks causing a chuckle. But, most unfortunately, the spectacular spurts of subtle humor and beautifully human moments are interrupted far too often by some of the most crass, dull-witted lines I have heard in a while. It would fit right into a Deadpool movie, and I say that with no hyperbole. To give examples: a conversation abruptly goes from a classy discussion about Hart's finely tuned lyrics to crudely comparing a play's quality to erected genitalia. Another scene has a character shift from the heartfelt reflections of love to describing a male failing to use a condom for five long minutes--an exchange that did not enhance the narrative in any fashion. These are not outliers, either, as Blue Moon's sloppy screenwriting is frequently doing this pendulum-like behavior. It would not be egregious if perhaps some of the rougher, heavily drunk folks were the nasty speakers and the others were more restrained and established in their dialogue. But, no--the class-to-crass pendulum unpredictably swings for almost every character throughout the 100-minute runtime.

Blue Moon is best described as a lavish meal at a prestigious restaurant. It has all of the exemplary ingredients in order, making it an obviously winning choice. Once ordered though, the server decides to put odd sauce on it. It makes the dish look less appetizing, but it still could be a delightful dinner. Then the server adds more of that sauce. He stops for a moment, then he pours another round of it on an almost unrecognizable meal. This process repeats over and over again, and every time the server stops, you pray it is the last--but it is not, not until your dinner is over. The food is not terrible, but you painfully ponder how wonderful it could have been without that sauce. In other words, Blue Moon does more right than it does wrong, but Kaplow's errors are loud and unignorable, damning an otherwise inspired production to mediocrity.

Score: 61/100 (Check it out if you are really curious.)

'Blue Moon' is set in 1943, the year in which I was born. I mention this by way of saying that I am no longer young. I am old enough to recognize and appreciate the names of the principal characters of this film; Lorenz Hart, Richard Rodgers, and Oscar Hammerstein; great musical composers and lyricists. And perhaps that is why I so appreciated this look into the backstage of those three artists; to see them as men, as jealous and imperious, as marvelously human as a person can be.

The film takes place on a single night in a single bar (Sardi's New York), the night that Rodgers and Hammerstein's 'Oklahoma' opened on stage to rave reviews. Lorenz Hart (Rodgers' former collaborator) despises the show, to a large degree because he's been deposed as Rodgers' partner. He rants to Sardi's bar-tender - a great Bobby Canavale - and anyone else within earshot. And so the night goes; Rodgers and Hammerstein show up at Sardi's, a young woman whom Hart professes to love arrives as well. There is a confluence of Hart's wishes and the sad reality of his life during which I found my loyalty, my empathy, shifting from minute to minute.

A fine piece of theatre. Whether or not it is your cup of tea as a film; well of course that's your decision to make.

I thought each performer involved was excellent. Standouts? Naturally Ethan Hawke as the diminutive, envious, sardonic Hart is already mentioned for an Oscar. Margaret Qualley as his young love interest is outstanding in a difficult role; she has the ability to exude beauty and a beast-like qualities at the same time. Bobby Canavale gave - what was for me - the film's best performance; a calming, knowing, seen-it-all New Yorker who knows when to speak and when not. Finally Andrew Scott as Richard Rodgers; a fine performance, but I did not like the man he projects, Richard Rodgers, not at all. But I think that was the idea. Rodgers seems aware of Hart's problems and spends, what seemed like, too much time with his old partner. But my take was he enjoyed seeing Hart squirm, and squirm Lorenz Hart does. It was difficult to watch. An extraordinary window into their tattered relationship.

I found this extremely offensive to short men and done with bad taste in the subject. To much elitist self-complacency and narcissistic in grandeur dull life. Honestly why we never see short actors shine for a Oscar campaign performance? The industry take this kind of person out to the garbage and a movie like this was a lost opportunity. Richard and Ethan match is perfect but I dont understand the choice here? What were they were expecting and what is the interest to tell this story?

BLUE MOON I I There's something intriguing about a one-setting feature and Blue Moon gives it a whirl with this dialogue heavy biopic. Richard Linklater effortlessly helms with a feeling of a Broadway play and its simplicity is refreshing yet at times a tad annoying. What brings it to life is yet another captivating performance from Ethan Hawke one of the best actors working today. Bobby Cannavalle too deserves mention for an engaging supporting stint.

Ethan Hawke fully commits himself to giving a warts-and-all portrayal of the almost forgotten mid-century lyricist Lorenz Hart in director Richard Linklater's evocative 2025 chamber piece about a pivotal, heart-crushing night in Hart's life. Running a fleet 100 minutes, the movie takes place entirely in Sardi's, a Broadway institution that served as the definitive post-theater hangout where creatives awaited opening night reviews. That was the case on March 31, 1943, when Hart waits for the arrival of his longtime partner, the legendary composer Richard Rodgers, on the night "Oklahoma!" opened. This was a critical turning point in musical theater history because the show marked Rodgers' first collaboration with Oscar Hammerstein II and effectively ended Rodgers' work with Hart due to Hart's escalating decline from alcoholism. The movie revolves around these points as well as Hart's hopelessly unrequited feelings for college student and aspiring set designer Elizabeth Weiland. Hawke is in almost every moment of this film and makes the most of Robert Kaplow's literate albeit verbose screenplay. The one contrived aspect of his performance is the height disparity in playing a character substantially shorter than his real self and the rest of the cast. Hawke looks physically out of-sync in certain shots. Andrew Scott uses his natural charisma to effectively convey Rodgers' unprecedented success, while Margaret Qualley does a fine job balancing Elizabeth's ambition with common decency, especially as she treads the sensitive subject of Hart's homosexuality. Bobby Cannavale comically plays a classic movie trope, the seen-it-all bartender Eddie. It was amusing to see Hart meet an unimpressed adolescent Stephen Sondheim. This movie is definitely more for Broadway aficionados.