Movie Review: ‘Blue Moon’

NEW YORK (OSV News) – Existential issues: the fear of becoming outmoded, of dying unloved, of having one’s work forgotten, are wrestled with in the very loosely fact-based mix of comedy and drama “Blue Moon” (Sony Pictures Classics). Director Richard Linklater’s film focuses on a single evening in the life of Broadway lyricist Lorenz Hart (Ethan Hawke).

There’s a hint of glamor, but mostly it’s about artistic endeavor. Self-loathing, backbiting and insincere congratulations hang in the air as thick as cigarette smoke.

The date is a precise one: March 31, 1943, the opening night of “Oklahoma!” That groundbreaking musical — the first production crafted by Hart’s longtime collaborator, composer Richard Rodgers (Andrew Scott), with Oscar Hammerstein II (Simon Delaney) — launched a partnership that would last until Hammerstein’s death in 1960.

It was the final turning point for Hart, signaling the end of his work with Rodgers. Together, over the course of nearly a quarter century, they had created 28 shows featuring an abundance of hit songs.

In fact, Hart would be dead within just a few months, his alcoholism having overcome him. And the hard truth was that his addiction made him an unreliable songwriting partner, since he would disappear on benders for weeks at a time, quite often traveling to Mexico.

As scripted by Robert Kaplow, much of the movie is devoted to a lengthy, fascinating monologue by Hart, who has slipped away from the theater mid-performance and repaired to Sardi’s, the Times Square restaurant where there is to be a party after the show. There he gets into plausible conversations with the establishment’s bartender, Eddie (Bobby Cannavale).

Essayist E.B. White (Patrick Kennedy), shown correcting proofs for the New Yorker magazine, is another of Hart’s interlocutors on screen, though such an encounter never actually took place. Hart also banters with GI pianist Morty Rifkin (Jonah Lees), whom he nicknames Knuckles.

But Hart’s real purpose in coming to Sardi’s is to meet Elizabeth (Margaret Qualley), a comely 20-year-old Yale University student he thinks of as his protegee. Sadly for him, Elizabeth mostly just wants to use Hart to meet more important people — Rodgers among them.

“I adore this girl,” Hart tells Eddie. “I tell you, it’s beyond sex.” In this connection, allusions are made to Hart’s supposed homosexuality for which there is no conclusive evidence one way or the other. But the screenplay doesn’t linger on the topic.

Instead, there’s a long sequence in which Elizabeth describes a failed love affair. Hart is captivated; yet Elizabeth leaves with Rodgers.

The script gives Hart some choice lines about his craft, including “I have written a handful of words that are going to cheat death.” But he’s not at all impressed with “Oklahoma!” Rather, he calls it “nostalgic for a past that never existed” and decries its characters as “unreal” and “unrecognizable as human beings.” The public — and, ultimately, posterity — disagreed.

So Hart was no prophet. But “Blue Moon” captures his desperation to stay relevant as he begs Rodgers to resume their collaboration. And if there’s a lesson to it all, it’s that enduring art can originate from the deep unhappiness of people who are just trying for their shot at fame and riches.

The film contains descriptions of sexual behavior, several profanities and fleeting rough language. The OSV News classification is A-III – adults. The Motion Picture Association rating is R — restricted. Under 17 requires accompanying parent or adult guardian.

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