Winter Film Festival - Blue Moon

Richard Linklater’s “Blue Moon” tells the story of legendary lyricist Lorzen Hart bravely facing the future as his professional and private life unravel at the opening party of his former partner’s hit show “Oklahoma.”

By the time this night is over, Hart will have confronted both a world that no longer values his talent and the seeming impossibility of love.

The film festival selection “Blue Moon” delivers a career-defining performance from Ethan Hawke (who is also nominated for an Oscar for this performance) and an unconventional dialogue-heavy “stage play” structure.

Now, even though some critics have been heavily mixed on the “stage play” structure, I actually think the structure works for this film - even though it can sometimes slow things down just a little bit. The film, which is set almost entirely within a single NYC bar, creates a dream-like mood that also allows the audience to feel as though they are experiencing a private, late night conversation.

Even though the dialogue-heavy moments can bring things down to a slow pace here and there, this actually works for this film since it shows us an intimate, character-driven exploration of Lorenz Hart’s final days (Hart passed away months after the opening night of “Oklahoma!”). One thing I really enjoyed about the film being so dialogue-heavy is that we also get to explore the emotional state of Hart throughout the overall story which is an intriguing way of telling this story.

Ethan Hawke also does a tremendous job portraying the late songwriter Lorenz Hart. In this film, he has the ability to blend witty dialogue with raw sadness, which effectively captures the loneliness, jealousy, and genius of the declining artist. Hawke also portrays the character’s emotional unraveling with great empathy, making us actually feel his pain as he navigates his declining relevance and personal life.

There are a few moments in the film where Hart is speaking to his former partner Richard Rodgers that are actually a little heartbreaking since these moments actually highlights the painful end of their long business partnership. There are also a couple

scenes where Hart has a few tender moments with a woman who he’s been longing (Elizabeth Wailand) that are actually nice since the conversations between the two seems to get Hart from thinking about Rodgers’ latest success - almost like a compulsive distraction.

“Blue Moon” is a slow-burn, dialogue-driven character study focusing on the lyricist Lorenz “Larry” Hart, who, like I said before, passed away months after the events of this film. Set mostly within a single, intimate location, the film captures the emotional collapse of a brilliant but self-destructive artist who’s struggling, while his former partner achieves more success.

Cast: Ethan Hawke (Lorzen Hart); Bobby Cannavale (Eddie); Andrew Scott (Richard Rodgers); Margaret Qualley (Elizabeth Weiland); (Patrick Kennedy (E.B. ‘Andy’ White); Jonah Lees (Morty Rifkin) ;Simon Delaney (Oscar Hammerstein); Cillian Sullivan (Stevie Soundheim).

Writer/director: Robert Kaplow (writing debut); Richard Linklater (director) (Netflix’s Hitman; Where’d You Go, Bernadette; Last Flag Flying; Boyhood; Before Midnight)

Trivia: Ethan Hawke partially shaved his head and wore a practical comb-over hairstyle to approximate Lorzen Hart’s distinctive baldness. Hawke was nominated for Best Actor - Musical or Comedy for his portrayal and has also been nominated for an Oscar.

MPA:  Rated R for language and sexual references   (runtime 100 minutes)

The remaining show dates and times for “Blue Moon” during the Winter Film Festival are as follows: Tuesday March 3 - 2: 30 pm; Saturday March 7 - 7:30 pm; Thursday March 12 - 12 pm.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qo7gRHip0lI

• Ethan Hawke stated that he read the screenplay roughly a decade before production began and expressed early interest in the role. Director Richard Linklater wanted him for the film but felt Hawke wasn't old enough and he didn't want to age him with makeup. So Linklater postponed the project for several years before moving forward.

• Ethan Hawke partially shaved his head and wore a practical comb-over hairstyle to approximate Lorenz Hart's distinctive baldness.

• The film was shot in 15 days on a soundstage in Dublin, Ireland.

• The film depicts several real historical figures, including Lorenz Hart, Richard Rodgers, Oscar Hammerstein II, E.B. White, Stephen Sondheim, and George Roy Hill.

• Because Lorenz Hart was significantly shorter than Ethan Hawke, the production employed camera angles, blocking, and staging techniques to minimize the visible height difference.

• Stephen Sondheim appears as a character in the film. Director Richard Linklater has separately developed a film adaptation of Sondheim's musical Merrily We Roll Along.

• Blue Moon had its world premiere at the main competition of the 75th Berlin International Film Festival on February 18, 2025, where it won the Silver Bear for Best Supporting Performance for Andrew Scott.