Film review: ‘BLUE MOON’ by Nick Gardener from ‘Built For Speed’
It has been a remarkable 12 months for director Richard Linklater. Novelle Vague, his behind-the-scenes dramatisation of Jean Luc Godard’s Breathless was a triumph and now, in Blue Moon, a film about another iconic artist, this time lyricist Lorenz Hart, the Before Midnight director reminds us of his talent for dialogue-driven personal dramas.
Lorenz Hart famously collaborated with songwriter Richard Rodgers to create some of musical theatre’s most iconic songs including Blue Moon, The Lady is a Tramp and Isn’t it Romantic. In a riveting performance Ethan Hawke portrays Hart as a brilliant, funny but flawed and tragic figure. A lonely alcoholic, he fears that at 47 his best years are behind him. He spirals further when Rodger’s teams with Oscar Hammerstein to write songs for the musical Oklahoma!
The film takes place almost entirely at hotel Sardis where Hart has ensconced himself in the bar prior to an afterparty for the premiere of Oklahoma! Having fled the show in disgust he derides it as cornball trash. From his barstool, Hart waxes lyrical about the musical theatre business, art, beauty and the disappointments of his life. He desperately seeks validation from anyone who will listen including barman Eddie (Bobby Cannavale), piano player Morty (Jonah Lees) and strangely enough, Charlotte’s Web and Stuart Little author E.B. White who just happens to be there. Hart also talks in rapturous verse about Elizabeth Weiland (Margaret Qualley) a woman for whom he appears to have romantic intentions even though Hart is gay and more than twice her age.
The film is largely composed of soliloquies from Hart so it often comes across like a filmed play. The dialogue, written by Robert Kaplow, is apparently based on letters exchanged between Hart and Weiland. As we rarely see films set almost entirely in one location, it takes a while to get on the film’s wavelength. The setting initially makes us aware of the film’s artifice and that we’re watching Ethan Hawke playing Hart. Soon, though, through a wonderful performance, Hawke disappears into the character. Hawke convincingly depicts Hart as an articulate wit but also at times a bitter and contemptuous narcissist. Hart’s praise for some, including E. B. White is, however, genuine and touching. While this is the Ethan Hawke show, the supporting cast still have the opportunity to make a profound impression. Andrew Scott is convincing as the focused professional Rodgers who has become terminally frustrated with erratic and unreliable Hart while Margaret Qualley has a formidable and luminous presence as Elizabeth.
While Hart’s confessional rants and snarky observations about the music world and life in general are for the most part exquisitely crafted, some of the exchanges between characters, including Elizabeth’s story about a sexual encounter, aren’t especially interesting and go on too long.
Some may struggle with this film’s visually limited theatrical approach but many will be seduced by this perceptive, lyrical, sometimes painfully funny depiction of a person staring into the abyss.
Nick’s rating: ***1/2
Genre: Drama/ Biopic.
Classification: M.
Director(s): Richard Linklater.
Release date: 29th Jan 2026.
Running time: 100 mins.
Reviewer: Nick Gardener can be heard on “Built For Speed” every Friday night from 8-10pm on 88.3 Southern FM.