On the evening of 31 March, 1943, legendary lyricist Lorenz Hart confronts his shattered self-confidence in Sardi’s bar as his former collaborator Richard Rodgers celebrates the opening night of his ground-breaking hit musical Oklahoma!
The Garden Cinema View:
This tremendously witty and wordy chamber piece from Richard Linklater feels like a play. It isn’t, but is surely inspired by the stage worlds inhabited by Lorenz Hart, Richard Rodgers, and Oscar Hammerstein. Effectively a one-location, bar film, Blue Moon follows the cigar-smoked, whisky-drenched afterparty of the Broadway premiere Oklahoma!. Ethan Hawke is a ferocius ball of energy as the Capote-esque Hart. Bitter, quick, cutting, open, rude, and always the most talented person in the room, Hart is spiralling and close to crashing out, but is fascinating to listen to and watch. The film feels stagey, but Linklater imbues the action with a seamless flow, and ultimately Blue Moon is a pleasurable and very funny character study.
