Richard Linklater and Ethan Hawke have forged one of cinema's most enduring creative partnerships over three decades, but "Blue Moon" might be their most emotionally vulnerable collaboration yet. This intimate Biography unfolds entirely over one fateful evening in 1943, as legendary Broadway lyricist Lorenz Hart nurses his wounds at Sardi's while his former partner celebrates the opening night of "Oklahoma!" Anchored by a tour-de-force performance from Hawke that deserves serious awards consideration, this Drama is a melancholy meditation on artistic obsolescence, unrequited love, and the cruel passage of time. It's a 2025 Film that showcases maturity and restraint from both its star and director, proving that sometimes the most devastating stories unfold in a single room over a few hours.
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Director: Richard Linklater Writer: Robert Kaplow Cast: Ethan Hawke, Margaret Qualley, Bobby Cannavale, Andrew Scott, Jonah Lees, Simon Delaney, Patrick KennedyGenres: Biography, Comedy, Drama, History, Music, Romance
Runtime: 1 hour 40 minutes
Release Date: October 17, 2025
March 31, 1943. While Broadway celebrates the premiere of Rodgers and Hammerstein's "Oklahoma!" at the St. James Theatre, Lorenz Hart—the brilliant but troubled lyricist behind classics like "My Funny Valentine" and "The Lady is a Tramp"—ducks out early to drown his sorrows at Sardi's. Over the course of one increasingly alcohol-soaked evening, Hart waits for the afterparty crowd to arrive, entertaining the bartender with witty observations while wrestling with professional jealousy, romantic delusions, and the terrifying realization that his best days may be behind him. The film takes its title from one of Hart's most famous songs, and like that ballad, it's suffused with longing for something just out of reach.
Story and Screenplay
Robert Kaplow's screenplay is deceptively simple in structure but remarkably rich in subtext. By confining the action almost entirely to Sardi's restaurant and unfolding in real time, "Blue Moon" achieves a theatrical intimacy that never feels claustrophobic. This isn't a conventional biopic that traces Hart's rise and fall—instead, it's a snapshot of a man at his lowest point, using one night to illuminate an entire life.
The dialogue crackles with intelligence and pain. Hart holds court like a king in exile, delivering monologues filled with film criticism, Broadway gossip, and self-aware humor that barely masks his desperation. When he dismisses "Oklahoma!" as pandering garbage while simultaneously acknowledging it will be a massive hit, we understand the torture of watching someone else succeed with work you consider beneath you. The script never overexplains; it trusts us to read between the witty barbs and understand what's left unspoken.
Where lesser scripts might have relied on flashbacks or heavy exposition, Kaplow reveals Hart's history through conversation—his complicated partnership with Richard Rodgers, his struggles with alcoholism and self-loathing, his sexuality in an era that demanded discretion. The pacing is deliberate but never dull, building tension as we wait alongside Hart for Rodgers to arrive and for Elizabeth, the young woman he's convinced himself he loves, to validate his romantic fantasies.
The screenplay's only minor weakness is that some viewers might find the first act too leisurely, as Hart banters with the bartender and other early arrivals. But this patient character-building pays enormous dividends once the stakes become clear and the emotional confrontations begin.
Acting and Characters
Ethan Hawke delivers what may be the finest performance of his distinguished career. Playing Hart as diminutive in stature (the filmmakers use forced perspective to approximate Hart's 4'10" frame), Hawke creates a character who's simultaneously larger than life in personality and tragically small in the world's eyes. His Hart is verbose, brilliant, charming, insecure, self-destructive, and heartbreakingly aware of his own obsolescence—all at once.
The physicality is impressive—the greasy comb-over, the oversized suit, the way he perches on bar stools—but it's Hawke's emotional transparency that devastates. Watch his eyes (he wears dark contacts to match Hart's) as he delivers cutting remarks about "Oklahoma!" while Scott's Rodgers receives adulation. The pain underneath the wit is palpable. When Hart tells elaborate stories or launches into film criticism, Hawke makes you believe this man has spent a lifetime using words as both weapon and shield.
The monologues are extraordinary. Hawke finds music in every line, whether Hart is spinning a hilariously vulgar anecdote involving a priest or delivering crushing self-assessments. There's a manic quality to his performance that never tips into caricature—this is a man running on fumes, using every ounce of charisma to convince the world (and himself) that he still matters.
Andrew Scott brings gravitas and complexity to Richard Rodgers. In less skilled hands, Rodgers could have been a one-dimensional villain or saint, but Scott makes him achingly human. You can see the affection, frustration, guilt, and exasperation warring in his face whenever he interacts with Hart. Their staircase conversation is a masterclass in unspoken history—two men who know each other intimately, bound by shared success and mutual resentment. Scott looks like a man who wants to both embrace and throttle his former partner, and that contradiction feels utterly authentic.
Margaret Qualley radiates warmth and intelligence as Elizabeth Weiland, the Yale student who represents Hart's last hope for romantic validation. She could have played Elizabeth as merely an object of desire, but Qualley imbues her with genuine fondness for Hart alongside a clear-eyed understanding that his feelings aren't reciprocated. Her kindness toward him makes the inevitable rejection even more devastating. The scene where she gently tells Hart "I love you, just not in that way" is handled with such grace by both actors that it becomes one of the film's emotional peaks.
Bobby Cannavale provides grounded humanity as Eddie the bartender, serving as both audience surrogate and Hart's weary confessor. Cannavale's naturalistic performance creates a perfect counterbalance to Hawke's theatrical intensity, and their rapport feels lived-in and genuine.
Direction and Technical Aspects
Richard Linklater has always excelled at making conversation cinematic, from the "Before" trilogy to "Boyhood," but "Blue Moon" might be his most formally accomplished work. Working with longtime cinematographer Shane F. Kelly, he transforms what could have been a static stage piece into something visually dynamic and emotionally expressive.
The camera work is deceptively sophisticated. Long takes let scenes breathe, allowing actors to develop rhythms in their exchanges. The camera weaves through Sardi's with balletic grace, sometimes hovering over Hart's shoulder as he surveys the room, other times pushing in tight on faces to capture micro-expressions. Linklater uses the restaurant's physical space brilliantly—Hart's isolation in the downstairs bar versus the celebration happening upstairs becomes a visual metaphor for his exclusion from the success happening around him.
The forced perspective shots that make Hawke appear Hart's actual height are occasionally noticeable but serve an important purpose, emphasizing Hart's physical vulnerability and the insecurity it bred. These aren't just tricks—they're character insights.
The production design by Susie Cullen recreates 1940s Sardi's with meticulous authenticity, from the caricatures on the walls to the period-appropriate barware. Everything feels lived-in rather than museum-like, creating an immersive environment that grounds the drama.
Sandra Adair's editing maintains momentum even during lengthy dialogue passages. She knows when to linger on a face and when to cut away, building tension through rhythm rather than flashy technique.
Music and Atmosphere
For a film about a songwriter, "Blue Moon" is surprisingly restrained with its use of music. There's no wall-to-wall score of Hart's greatest hits—instead, we get subtle piano work from Morty (whom Hart nicknames "Knuckles"), diegetic performances that feel organic to the setting. This restraint makes the few moments when Hart's lyrics are referenced or sung all the more powerful.
The sound design creates an enveloping atmosphere of 1940s nightlife—the clink of glasses, the murmur of conversations, the ambient sounds of the city outside. These details transport you to that specific time and place without calling attention to themselves.
The film's tone balances comedy and tragedy with remarkable dexterity. Hart's wit provides genuine laughs—his observations are often hilarious—but there's always melancholy underneath. The atmosphere is one of elegant decay, a world where beauty and brilliance are being slowly extinguished by time, alcohol, and changing tastes.
Strengths and Weaknesses
What Works:
- Ethan Hawke's extraordinary, career-best performance that deserves awards recognition
- Andrew Scott's nuanced portrayal of Rodgers as neither villain nor hero but a complicated friend
- Margaret Qualley bringing warmth and intelligence to what could have been a thankless role
- Robert Kaplow's literate, emotionally resonant screenplay
- Linklater's confident direction that makes theatrical intimacy cinematic
- The bold choice to unfold in real time within a single location
- Dialogue that crackles with wit while revealing deep emotional wounds
- Authentic period recreation that never feels like a museum piece
- The film's honesty about artistic jealousy, obsolescence, and unrequited love
- Bobby Cannavale's grounding presence
What Doesn't:
- The forced perspective effects, while thematically justified, can occasionally be distracting
- Some viewers may find the first act too dialogue-heavy and slow to develop
- The theatrical nature of the material won't appeal to everyone
- Limited scope might frustrate those expecting a traditional biopic structure
- Requires some familiarity with Broadway history to fully appreciate certain references
- The deliberately confined setting may feel claustrophobic to some
Final Verdict
"Blue Moon" is a film about the ache of being forgotten, the cruelty of watching someone else achieve the success you crave, and the impossibility of outrunning your demons. It's also about the enduring power of words, the complicated nature of creative partnerships, and how love—romantic, platonic, artistic—doesn't always slam doors but simply stops thinking about you.
This is Richard Linklater working at the height of his powers, bringing the same empathy and conversational brilliance he brought to the "Before" films to a very different subject. The real-time structure could have felt gimmicky, but instead it creates unbearable tension as we watch Hart's evening spiral from hopeful anticipation to devastating realization.
The film works as both a portrait of a specific artist at a specific moment and as a universal story about aging, relevance, and the fear that your best work is behind you. Hawke and Linklater, both now in their mid-50s, clearly understand these anxieties intimately, and that personal connection elevates the material beyond mere historical recreation.
Ethan Hawke has given memorable performances throughout his career, but this feels like a culmination—a role that allows him to showcase his verbal dexterity, emotional range, and willingness to be nakedly vulnerable. If there's any justice, this performance will finally earn him the Oscar that's eluded him despite four previous nominations.
"Blue Moon" is a quiet film, but it echoes loudly. Long after the credits roll, you'll find yourself thinking about Hart's desperate wit, his doomed romantic hopes, and that final moment of companionship before the darkness closes in. It's a film that understands how art can both save and destroy us, how collaboration requires trust that can be shattered, and how the line between confidence and delusion grows thinner as time passes.
Recommended for: Fans of character-driven dramas, admirers of Ethan Hawke or Richard Linklater's work, theater enthusiasts, viewers who appreciate dialogue-heavy films, those interested in artist biopics that take unconventional approaches, anyone who's felt the sting of professional jealousy or romantic rejection.
Not recommended for: Those seeking fast-paced entertainment, viewers who prefer action over conversation, audiences unfamiliar with or uninterested in Broadway history, anyone who finds theatrical settings claustrophobic or stagey films tedious.
"Blue Moon" is now playing in theaters. For more insightful Movie Reviews, check out our coverage of 2025 Movies and explore our specialized sections on Drama, and Music films.
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