Richard Linklater and his muse Ethan Hawke continue to be a formidable duo!
Blue Moon is a reflective and dialogue-driven portrait of the songwriter Lorenz Hart – one half of the forgotten legendary Rodgers and Hart partnership.
Ethan Hawke is almost unrecognisable as the fading composer Lorenz Hart. The film bears director Richard Linklater’s hallmarks: lingering shots, naturalistic character movements. It pairs so well with screenwriter, Robert Kaplow’s reams of easy dialogue, subtle humour, and quiet warmth.
Hawke who is the driving force of the film delivers a masterclass in acting. He is transformed as the dapper and desperate Hart cleaving onto his relevance. The believability doesn’t always stretch to the physicality of the role as Hawke never quite convinces as the 5ft Hart — but his emotional range more than compensates.
It’s wonderfully awkward watching Hart ensnare those around him who wish to be elsewhere as his rambling charm fades into regretful indulgence. In one particularly painful bathroom scene, he realises mid-conversation that he’s talking to himself. Left with literally his dick in his hand, the camera holds long enough for that loneliness to sink in.
At times, Blue Moon feels frustratingly long-winded, but that’s the point. Linklater traps the audience inside Lorenz’s endless anecdotes, forcing us to feel the same weary affection of his friends and paid staff. It will work for some but not for others as indicated by the frustrated groan of one movie goer when Lorenz threatened another account of the incandescent beauty of his dear Elizabeth (Margaret Qualley).
The film is peppered with recognisable faces: Andrew Scott plays Richard Rodgers, Hart’s musical partner who has reached the end of his tether and now chases his own notoriety. Qualley’s Elizabeth — the woman Hart adores — uses him to get an introduction to Rodgers. Together, Rogers and Elizabeth represent a post-war shift where men like Hart, the tortured “artiste,” are being left behind.
Knowing how things end for Hart punctuates this brief chapter in his life. The title, pulled from Hart’s biggest hits, its opening lyrics are sorrowful; Blue Moon, you saw me standing alone. Without a dream in my heart. Without a love of my own.
With a weighty understanding the audience feel a sense of responsibility to sit dutifully and listen to one last story.
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