Blue Moon
2025
***½
Director: Richard Linklater
Cast: Ethan Hawke, Margaret Qualley, Bobby Cannavale, Andrew Scott, Simon Delaney, Patrick Kennedy, Jonah Lees, Cillian Sullivan, John Doran, David Rawle, Anne Brogan
Broadway lyricist Lorenz Hart (1895-1943) was one half of the famous songwriting duo Rodgers and Hart, best known for songs like Blue Moon, My Funny Valentine, and The Lady Is a Tramp. On the opening-night celebration of Oklahoma!, the first fruit of Rodgers' new partnership, Hart must confront his fading career and personal appeal. Richard Linklater's fictionalised biopic was written by Robert Kaplow, who based the screenplay on a collection of letters. The resulting film is witty and funny but very dialogue-heavy and almost entirely set in one room. Nevertheless, Ethan Hawke is brilliant as Hart, who uses his sharp tongue to hide his insecurities and feelings of loneliness.
