Blue Moon
Richard Linklater and Ethan Hawke reunite for a bittersweet bottle film.
Caught short: Margaret Qualley and Ethan Hawke
Image courtesy of Sony Pictures.
Blue Moon opens with two quotes about the subject of the film, the lyricist Lorenz Hart. One of these comes from Oscar Hammerstein, praising Hart as “alert and dynamic and fun”, while the other comes from Mabel Mercer, simply saying, “He was the saddest man I ever knew”. As a summation of the man, and of the film we are about to see, there couldn’t be a more perfect selection of quotes.
The title of the film is itself a wry joke. In the first act, Hart laments the fact that out of a catalogue of songs he deemed to be far better, ‘Blue Moon’ was the one he is known for. ‘Blue Moon’ also makes for an elegant sounding title, evoking the loneliness and yearning that both the song and this film are centred on.
The whole film plays out in real time, in a single restaurant, the meticulously recreated Sardi’s in New York City. It is 1943 – opening night of Oklahoma!, the first project that Hart’s former songwriting partner Richard Rodgers has made with his new collaborator Oscar Hammerstein. Hart has left the play early, heading to the bar to (not) drink, and pontificate with the bartender (Bobby Cannavale) and pianist (Jonah Lees) about art, love, and not least, his hatred for Oklahoma!. When he’s not sounding off about the aforementioned subjects, Hart gushes over his 20-year-old protege and muse, Elizabeth Weiland (played with much charm by Margaret Qualley), with whom he is madly in love. But the idea of these feelings being reciprocated seems too good to be true, to the audience and to the characters whose ears are bent by Hart.
Ethan Hawke plays Lorenz Hart brilliantly, rarely letting the sadness come to the surface, while somehow still embodying it in every frame. And speaking of bodies, we’ve never seen Ethan Hawke this short before (Hart was famously 5’0, while Hawke is 5’8). This is mostly achieved by creative camera trickery, such as having him stand in holes, but there is one moment where his whole body is in frame, and what a wonderful frame it is.
The script, by Robert Kaplow, is endlessly entertaining and full of wit, but with a measure of melancholy to offset it. Hart’s situation at this moment in time is tragic, having lost his songwriting partner as a result of his alcoholism, which in turn is partly a result of his repressed sexuality. But, as the opening quotes allude to, he is an extremely fun person to spend 100 minutes with.
JONAS BUTLER
Cast: Ethan Hawke, Margaret Qualley, Bobby Cannavale, Andrew Scott, Jonah Lees, Simon Delaney, Cillian Sullivan, Patrick Kennedy.
Dir Richard Linklater, Pro Mike Blizzard, John Sloss and Richard Linklater, Screenplay Robert Kaplow, Ph Shane F. Kelly, Pro Des Susie Cullen, Ed Sandra Adair, Music Graham Reynolds, Costumes Consolata Boyle, Sound Justin Hennard.
Detour Filmproduction/Renovo Media Group/Wild Atlantic Pictures/Cinetic Media/Not To Be Seen Productions/Under the Influence Productions/Concord Originals-Sony Pictures.
100 mins. USA. 2025. US Rel: 24 October 2025. UK Rel: 28 November 2025. Cert. 15.
