Blue Moon

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.