Blue Moon

The night is March 31st 1943. The now famous musical Oklahoma by Richard Rodgers (Andrew Scott) had its opening night, and Rodgers’s former colleague Lorenz Hart (Ethan Hawke) deals with the success he never had from afar. This night is what the entirety of Richard Linklater’s Blue Moon encapsulates, the maudlin ramblings of Hart as he reflects on his own success and his relationships, particularly with Rodgers, and his new younger friend he yearns for more with. A film that consists of nearly entire monologues from Lorenz, it is miraculously always engaging due to Linklater’s compelling storytelling and the incredible performance by the great Hawke. 

Chamber pieces are neither new to cinema nor to Linklater, but that storytelling device that runs lots of risks in any medium. Settings and characters can run dry, and the longer the film, the larger the risk of tiring the audience of the world. Blue Moon utilizes only a few characters and takes place in a rather quiet bar, so its success almost entirely relies on the writing and performances. Robert Kaplow’s script is super witty and charming, channeling the old school magic of a Hart and Rodgers production while never losing sight of the tragedy of Hart.

Perhaps the best quality of Blue Moon is how it captures that tragic nature of Hart’s story. This artist is falling behind while life outpaces him and this is the night when all of his insecurities hit him at once. Between the success of his estranged colleague and the new flame he may have misunderstood, everything in his life is colliding and he can only try to match it with failed ambition. Topping it all off is the “last drink of the night” he has more than a few times. Hawke delivers maybe his best performance here—a hard feat with past works like First Reformed, the Before trilogy and Tape—as there is something so earnest he brings to the pathetic Hart. Empathy is never lost for our lead character: not from Linklater, not from Kaplow and especially not from Hawke. 

The other performers—Margaret Qualley, Bobby Canavale, and Andrew Scott—are delightful additions that really fill out the film and space within. There is a musicality to the dialogue, propelled forward by the piano player (Jonah Lees) matching the melodies of Hart’s monologues. Qualley is perhaps the supporting standout as the only other character who gets a scene of length that matches Hawke’s otherwise absolute command of the film. The others get small moments throughout that are wonderful, but Qualley truly owns the screen for a few moments in a way that completely recontextualizes the relationship Hawke led us to believe their characters had, redefining her own character. 

On the surface, Blue Moon may seem like an incredibly simple piece that does not warrant any kind of in-depth review. Yet much of its complexities are hard to communicate outside of its viewing experience. It is a remarkable film that not only stands out as one of the best films of the year, but also as a must-watch in the incredible career of Richard Linklater. For anyone interested in the story of Rodgers and Hart, a new Linklater film, or one of the best performances of the year, your ticket to Blue Moon should be booked yesterday.

8/10