PLOT: Lyricist Lorenz Hart (Ethan Hawke) entertains the patrons of a New York bar on the eve of the premiere of Oklahoma!, a play that marks the debut of his former skilled accomplice Richard Rodgers’ (Andrew Scott) new collaboration with lyricist Oscar Hammerstein.
REVIEW: When individuals consider Richard Rodgers, they will’t assist however image him as half of Rodgers and Hammerstein — the Broadway duo behind among the most iconic musicals of all time, together with Oklahoma!, South Pacific, The Sound of Music, and The King & I. But earlier than he teamed up with Hammerstein, Rodgers had one other accomplice: Lorenz Hart. Throughout their heyday, Rodgers and Hart have been the toast of Broadway. They have been so profitable that by 1948, Hollywood had already made a musical biopic about them, Phrases and Music — by which level Hart was already lifeless.
Sadly, within the years since, Hart has turn into one thing of a footnote in Broadway historical past. However his story is an interesting one. A brief, self-destructive alcoholic with a razor-sharp wit, Hart was each good and doomed — a raconteur whose demise at solely forty-eight stunned nobody. In Blue Moon, director Richard Linklater offers him the biopic therapy, specializing in one pivotal, tragic second in his life: the night he noticed Oklahoma! and realized that Rodgers’ new partnership would cement his immortality — and depart Hart behind.
It’s a terrific function for Ethan Hawke (who’s additionally killing it in The Lowdown), however in contrast to something he’s finished earlier than with Linklater. He utterly disappears into Hart, enjoying him as a person who looks like a joyous social butterfly however carries a deep unhappiness beneath the allure. It’s a heartbreaking efficiency — Hawke at his most weak. Hart defied categorization, particularly for his time. Whereas coded as homosexual, the movie additionally explores his infatuation with a twenty-year-old pupil, Elizabeth (Margaret Qualley, excellent). His relationships together with her and with Rodgers outline the movie — each use him, in several methods. Elizabeth enjoys his adoration however brazenly tells him about her crushes, hoping he’ll introduce her to Rodgers. She’s sympathetic, but manipulative — precisely the kind of individual Hart can’t resist. He’s unable to kind significant connections, continuously deflecting ache with humor.
His closest bond is with Rodgers, although even that has frayed. Rodgers has outgrown Hart, basking in a newfound glow that now not depends upon his outdated accomplice. But Linklater by no means vilifies anybody; you perceive why individuals distance themselves from Hart. His should be cherished — and his self-destructive power — weigh closely on everybody round him.
Linklater phases the movie like a play, confining the motion to a single location as characters drift out and in of Hart’s orbit. Standouts embrace Bobby Cannavale as a gruff bartender who turns into an unlikely confidant, and Patrick Kennedy as author E.B. White, who’s struggling by his personal inventive block.
That stated, Blue Moon received’t be a simple promote. Many viewers in all probability haven’t heard of Rodgers & Hart — and may not care to. Reality be advised, I didn’t know a lot about them myself, however the energy of Linklater’s course and Hawke’s mesmerizing efficiency rapidly drew me in. It’s extra user-friendly to newcomers to the subject than Linklater’s personal Nouvelle Imprecise, which comes out later this month. It deserves to face amongst Hawke’s greatest work, and it’s excessive time the Academy acknowledges him (it was legal he wasn’t nominated for First Reformed).
Even when present tunes aren’t your factor, give Blue Moon a shot. You would possibly end up stunned — and moved.
