Carl Roberts 
“Richard Linklater’s Blue Moon is a superb biographical comedy-drama, featuring a surely Oscar-winning performance from Ethan Hawke.”
Sometimes, some films come along that you don’t expect to be as good as they are. These movies take you entirely by surprise, leaving an indelible mark on viewers. Richard Linklater’s Blue Moon is one of those movies. To put it simply, it is one of the standout films of the year, and one that should rightly be in every critic’s top ten of 2025. The film is bolstered by a surely Oscar-winning performance from Ethan Hawke. Hawke is incredible, delivering a funny, dramatic, and tragic performance as the famous lyricist Lorenz Hart. He was one half of the Broadway songwriting team Rodgers and Hart, before Richard Rodgers left to form a partnership with Oscar Hammerstein II. Rodgers and Hammerstein went on to become Broadway’s most significant partnership, while Hart died a lonely man.
PREMISE
Forgotten but not gone. On the evening of March 31, 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!”.
THOUGHTS
The film is a delight from start to finish, with its wit, drama, and sadness combining to make it even more enjoyable. With superb supporting performances from Margaret Qualley, Bobby Cannavale, and Andrew Scott, the film never fails to entertain. The opening scene shows us what happened to Hart seven months after the film’s events. Hart drunkenly collapsed in the street to sadly die soon afterwards. With this in mind, and knowing Hart’s fate, we are thrown back seven months to the opening night of Oklahoma!. It is from this moment on that we can’t tear our eyes off the screen, watching Hawke and Cannavale, as bartender Eddie, verbally spar throughout, with often hilarious consequences.
Once Margaret Qualley and Andrew Scott, as Elizabeth Weiland and Richard Rodgers, respectively, we see the sadness and despair that lie beneath Hart’s cutting, often self-deprecating exterior. The byplay among the three actors makes the film shine, making us laugh even as we despair at Hart and his loneliness and sadness. With the addition of Jonah Lees as Morty Rifkin, the piano player at Sardi’s restaurant, we are never less than entertained. Margaret Qualley delivers a brilliant and heartwarming performance as Elizabeth, while Scott deserves an Oscar nomination as Rodgers. Less adds to the fun with his comebacks to Hart’s comments. But it is Cannavale who excels, never leaving our minds even as the end credits roll.
ETHAN HAWKE
Despite their prowess, their acting ability, and their superb performances, none can come close to the excellence of Ethan Hawke. This isn’t Oscar-baiting; this is truly an Oscar-winning performance. Hawke throws himself into the role, giving it everything he’s got and then some. Forget his performances in big-budget fare; here, Hawke is in his element. Here, he shows the world what he can do, and he does it expertly. We can never tear our eyes from him as he delivers brilliant dialogue, showing us the thoughts and insights of Hart while making us feel his time on this earth is running out.
Hawke doesn’t shy away from Hart’s traits; his semi-closeted reputation, his desire to sleep with Elizabeth, even though he knows it will never happen, to the devastation he feels inside when Elizabeth tells him she loves him but “not in that way.” While he smiles through it all and plays it off, Hart is hurt by this rejection. His jealousy of Hammerstein is carefully hidden away, never allowing his true feelings to show. By the time the film ends, we can see a talented but deeply flawed man, a human being who has lost his soul to loneliness. Hawke holds the film on his shoulders, a burden he takes on without difficulty. We hang on his every word while Hart is hanging dangerously by an ever-thinning thread.
WRITING
The screenplay by Robert Kaplow, inspired by the letters of Lorenz Hart and Elizabeth Weiland, is exemplary. Kaplow has delivered a biographical comedy-drama that is almost without comparison. His witty, cutting dialogue shines through at every turn, while his dramatic scenes are razor-sharp. Without a doubt, Kaplow has delivered a certain Oscar-nominated original screenplay that never misses a beat.
DIRECTION
What can be said of Richard Linklater’s direction that hasn’t been said before? There isn’t anything more that can be said about it. Linklater is a master filmmaker, and he once again proves it with this film. The direction of his cast, from the principal players to even the smallest of background actors, is sheer class and genius. The way Linklater shoots the film fits the narrative like a glove. His interior shots, which make up almost the entire film, are beyond reproach. Linklater makes us really believe we are in 1940s New York, from the smallest of details up to the grandest. He makes the film shine like a beacon, drawing us into this world and making us feel right at home.
VERDICT
Richard Linklater’s Blue Moon is a superb biographical comedy-drama, featuring a surely Oscar-winning performance from Ethan Hawke. It never fails to dazzle us with its wit, drama and excellent acting from all within. It draws us to it like a moth to a flame, making us want to get that much closer to it, despite knowing we could and probably will get hurt. With the superb musical performances by Lees as Morty Rifkin, taking us back to the period and a magnificent score from Graham Reynolds adding to the film’s enjoyment, we can’t help but be wowed and in awe at what we are seeing.
This isn’t your standard movie fare. The get them in, wow them, and get them out again stuff. This is superior movie entertainment, a comedy-drama that hits every spot it aims for. It’s refreshing to see a movie like this. It is the kind of movie that cinema was made for, something that people will see and be surprised and blown away by. The movie has so much heart and soul to it that it threatens to burst. Believe me, this is the kind of film that will be talked about on the journey home and for days after. I can’t recommend it highly enough. The Blue Moon is truly shining bright, and its beam is focused correctly on this film. Stylish, outstanding, and a real star in the movie sky.
Sony Pictures Classics releases Blue Moon.
Introducing Carl! As the News Editor at Future of the Force, Carl has been an invaluable member of our team since early 2016. His expertise and dedication have made him an integral part of our editorial staff. Beyond his professional role, Carl is a fervent supporter of Liverpool F.C. and an avid follower of pop culture. He has a deep passion for Halloween, Friday the 13th, and the iconic movie franchises Star Wars and Star Trek.
He can be found either at his neighborhood cinema, enjoying the latest releases on the big screen, or at home streaming the newest blockbuster movies.
