Directed by Richard Linklater — Screenplay by Robert Kaplow.
Richard Linklater’s Blue Moon is a 1940s-set biographical dramedy about lyricist Lorenz Hart (played by Ethan Hawke) and his experience as he watches his creative partner, Richard Rodgers (played by Andrew Scott), go on to do bigger things without him. On the opening night of Rodgers’ Oklahoma!, Hart hopes to not only charm the bartender (played by Bobby Cannavale) and the people around him, but also charm a young woman, Elizabeth Weiland (played by Margaret Qualley), whom he is attracted to, and win back Rodgers, so that they can work together again.
This one really hit me hard. Although there are certainly also funny moments and pleasant scenes, I found it to be so depressing in several moments. It’s obviously framed as this major event before Hart’s death, and it made it so dispiriting and crushing every single time he was pushed aside by his peers or got in his own way. It’s a great film, but it’s a really tough watch simply because Ethan Hawke plays Hart with so much humanity. It is a stellar performance. You see Hart longing for love, you see Hart desperate for a second chance, and you see him getting in his own way. You see his vices and his desire, and the way Hawke plays it, and Linklater tells it, makes it feel like such a deep tragedy. It also feels very relatable in certain aspects.
It’s a tough watch both because you want to wince when you see Hart be oblivious to what’s really going on and because you can sometimes see yourself in his foolishness and hopelessness; you can see yourself in how time has left him behind, you can see yourself in his desperation about undoing your own mistakes, and you can also see yourself in his need to feel important in and around the bar. But it’s also, of course, precisely a great movie in part because those elements are so expertly written and acted.
The film obviously has this live theater-esque, more or less, single-location structure, but it never feels overly clunky because Hawke keeps it moving and because the conversations that he partakes in feel so real. While I want to praise the writing, I also, however, must criticize it for an element that felt like it was too referential. It felt like the film was winking at its target audience too much with its surprise characters and easter eggs. It took me out of the experience of enjoying the film and made me think of similarly inelegant moments in superhero movies and unoriginal action movie sequels.
But the writing is otherwise quite sharp, and the acting is brilliant throughout. I can’t say enough good about Hawke here, who truly disappears into the role. It’s a cliched phrase, but this version of Hawke couldn’t be further away from how we’re used to seeing him. He is lights-out fantastic in deeply vulnerable and revealing scenes. The film rests on his shoulders, and he makes it soar. Margaret Qualley is spellbindingly good in her scenes. Although Bobby Cannavale’s bartender character feels thinly drawn and slightly cartoony, I thought he nailed the little expressions that told the quiet story that his heart hurts for Hart somewhat. I am also always so impressed with Andrew Scott. This definitely isn’t his most eccentric performance, but he plays his character’s blend of annoyance, restrained excitement, and concerned caution around Hart so expertly.
Although nowhere near my favorite Linklater films, I nevertheless think Blue Moon is a great film. I found it to be an all around deeply moving film that flowed really well despite the limits of its structure. It’s also just an engrossing acting showcase for its cast and, of course, especially a flawless Ethan Hawke.
8.5 out of 10
– Review written by Jeffrey Rex Bertelsen.
