Rating: 3.5/5
Synopsis:
Richard Linklater and Ethan Hawke team up for another character driven indie film. Based on a true story, we see the worst night of songwriter Lorenz Hart’s life. His former writing colleague has abandoned him for another partnership due to his instability and alcoholism. We see Hart trying to keep his composure through the opening night of Oklahoma!, the popular new stage play from his former partner. He recalls many of his creative endeavors and struggles throughout the night, largely through conversation with his bartender and another writer.
Positives:
I’ve always been a fan of both Richard Linklater and Ethan Hawke. Their work together has been some of the best indie filmmaking of this generation. While “Blue Moon” doesn’t hit the highs of their previous efforts, it is still an engrossing character study that showcases just how much range Ethan Hawke has. The film largely takes place in one building, where Lorenz Hart is explaining his frustrations with the evolution of his career and reliance on alcohol to cope. We see him interact with a handful of characters throughout the film, where the audience starts to realize how he observes his industry and those within it. While he has great admiration for his former partner, it’s evident how jealous he is of his newfound success elsewhere. The two have some strong dialogue driven exchanges throughout the film that shows why they ended their partnership. The true story behind these events is interesting to examine, as Hart’s genius couldn’t be matched by his shortcomings.
The performances are the main reason to see the film. Ethan Hawke gives one of the best performances of the year, transforming into a theatrical personality that thrives on clever word play and self-proclamation of his talent. It is truly Oscar worthy work. At the same time, he shows such a range by transitioning between different emotions as the night goes on. This must have been an extremely difficult performance to execute due to the amount of dialogue the role demands. I don’t think I’ve ever heard one character talk so much in one film, so credit to Hawke for nailing the role. Margaret Qualley and Andrew Scott also deliver strong supporting performances. They match Hawke’s energy nicely, where each of them could get supporting nominations at the Oscars as well. The dialogue is very dense, where audiences will have to keep their attention locked in to follow these heavy exchanges. Linklater is still showing us there is entertainment to be had with small scale character driven films.
Negatives:
“Blue Moon” is a good film, but it lacks enough purpose to consider it a great film. Although the film isn’t very long, it felt extended just to be able to make it a feature length film. The material doesn’t always warrant some of the long, extended exchanges between characters. The film could have trimmed fifteen to twenty minutes and been even stronger. I felt that the story had overstayed its welcome by the end. While Hawke does a great job with the material, his character often goes into tangents that feel inconsequential to the general plot. Again, tightening up aspects of the screenplay could have helped the film’s flow. Hart sometimes seems to be speaking into the void, where the amount of words he is speaking at once doesn’t always match the substance to what he’s saying. It’s very theatrical dialogue spoken from a personality that seems to rely on fugazi wordplay to make a point. Still, Hawke’s commitment to the role is worth the price of admission.
Conclusion:
Although “Blue Moon” isn’t Richard Linklater’s strongest work, it is still worth a watch for fans of the genre. It combines fast paced, witty dialogue with a character driven story. Ethan Hawke and the rest of the supporting cast do excellent work here with a script that is undoubtedly challenging to master. Although the pacing has some lulls and the story doesn’t match the strength of the performances, it is still worth checking out. Hawke and crew shouldn’t be forgotten during awards season!
