Blue Moon | Film Review

 

In 1943, lyricist Lorenz Hart (Ethan Hawke) spends an evening self-reflecting after his former collaborator Richard Rodgers (Andrew Scott) opens a hit musical without him.

The only reason this was on my radar, other than being a huge Andrew Scott fan, is that Ethan Hawke has been brought up in award conversation multiple times, and has now received an Oscar nomination.

This film was okay - the performances were the best thing about it.

Hawke completely embodies this character. We really get a true sense of who Hart is, and even when the performance becomes more outlandish, it never feels inauthentic.

Though it's a shame that Hawke is the only one being spoken about - all of the cast are amazing in their roles and they all deserve their flowers.

Hart is an odd character. Putting us in the bar with him lets us get to know him, but his insufferable nature has the effect of making the film feel like a slog to get through. And this was a note I made at 22 minutes in so you can guess how the rest of the film went.

That being said, it's incredibly well written, particularly the dialogue.

The more people we meet, the better it gets, and the better Hawke's performance gets. The character of Hart works well when he's interacting with people in conversation, rather than monologuing to the audience.

The dynamic between Hart and Rodgers is fascinating - Hawke and Scott play off of each other really well.

The score is absolutely beautiful, and another thing that isn't being talked about as much as it should be.

So overall, I thought the film was maybe a bit too long and not as interesting as it could be, but there are some great things here, particularly the performances.

5.5/10