Naemi Victoria takes centre stage in her review of Richard Linklater’s biographical musical Blue Moon, shot in Dublin.
Blue moon, you saw me standing alone
Without a dream in my heart
Without a love of my own
(Blue Moon, written by Lorenz Hart and Richard Rodgers, 1934)
Blue Moon shines on famous lyricist Lorenz Hart on one evening that epitomises his personal and professional demise. It is the 31st of March 1943 — the opening night of Oklahoma! This milestone of musical theatre marks the first time in over two decades that Hart did not collaborate with composer Richard Rodgers. Instead, a new partnership has emerged — that of Rodgers and lyricist Oscar Hammerstein II. Set during the premiere party of their musical triumph, Blue Moon captures Hart’s struggle to shine after losing his spotlight to another.
The film unfurls like a play. Its expositional plot takes place almost entirely in a single location and sheds light on a man as talented as he is troubled. First to arrive at Sardi’s bar, long before the celebrations of Oklahoma! begin, Hart sets out on a search for an audience — and finds it in a barkeeper, an aspiring pianist, and a writer. His creative genius burns fiercely in his sharp-witted eloquence, but he quickly monopolises the conversation. The intensity with which he speaks of love, friendship and art breathes life into his world of longing. Most recently, he has directed his desires at Elizabeth Weiland (Margaret Qualley), a young woman less than half his age. Infatuated with the idea that an ethereal muse has graced him with her companionship, his excessive praise reveals more about his yearning for admiration than Elisabeth’s character.
From the outset, there is a notable disconnect between the reality Hart envisions and the one everyone else inhabits. This ambiguity is introduced early on, as Hart effortlessly intertwines fact with fabulation. Caught up in his one-man show, he fails to differentiate between an impatient bystander and an attentive listener. With his humour, shrewd observations and occasional vulgarity, he claws his way to the centre of attention. Ethan Hawke’s compelling performance lends the character a vulnerability that grants his despair emotional resonance. As the evening progresses, Hart’s carefully crafted narrative begins to unravel as people from his stories — Weiland and Rodgers — arrive on the scene. The more desperately he tries to draw them into his orbit, the further he pushes them away. By the end of the evening, Hart returns to the only conversation that readily awaits him — the one with the barkeeper, as he pours another drink.
Shot in Dublin in 2024, Blue Moon stars Ethan Hawke as Lorenz Hart and Andrew Scott in the role of composer Richard Rodgers. They are joined by Margaret Qualley, who plays Elizabeth Weiland, and Bobby Cannavale as barkeeper Eddie. Director Richard Linklater and screenwriter Robert Kaplow previously worked together on the cinematic adaptation of Kaplow’s novel Me and Orson Welles, which was released in 2008. Staying in the sphere of theatre, Blue Moon is a dialogue-driven biopic that explores the emotional turmoil of a man valued for his work — but not his company.
Blue Moon premiered at Berlinale 2025.
