🔗 Share this article

Separating from the better-known partner in a showbiz partnership is a hazardous endeavor. Comedian Larry David did it. The same for Musician Andrew Ridgeley. Currently, this witty and heartbreakingly sad small-scale drama from writer the writer Robert Kaplow and filmmaker Richard Linklater recounts the almost agonizing account of Broadway lyricist Lorenz Hart shortly following his separation from composer Richard Rodgers. His role is portrayed with flamboyant genius, an unspeakable combover and fake smallness by Ethan Hawke, who is regularly digitally shrunk in stature – but is also occasionally shot standing in an off-camera hole to look up poignantly at taller characters, facing Hart’s vertical challenge as actor José Ferrer in the past acted the petite Toulouse-Lautrec.

Complex Character and Motifs

Hawke achieves substantial, jaded humor with the character's witty comments on the subtle queer themes of the film Casablanca and the cheesily upbeat theater production he’s just been to see, with all the lariat-wielding cowhands; he bitingly labels it Okla-homo. The sexuality of Lorenz Hart is multifaceted: this movie effectively triangulates his queer identity with the non-queer character invented for him in the 1948 musical the musical Words and Music (with Mickey Rooney portraying Hart); it intelligently infers a kind of bisexual tendency from the lyricist's writings to his protege: college student at Yale and aspiring set designer Elizabeth Weiland, acted in this movie with heedless girlishness by actress Margaret Qualley.

As a component of the famous musical theater songwriting team with the composer Rodgers, Lorenz Hart was responsible for matchless numbers like The Lady Is a Tramp, the tune Manhattan, the beloved My Funny Valentine and of course Blue Moon. But frustrated by the lyricist's addiction, unreliability and melancholic episodes, Rodgers severed ties with him and joined forces with the writer Oscar Hammerstein II to create the show Oklahoma! and then a multitude of stage and screen smashes.

Sentimental Layers

The movie conceives the profoundly saddened Hart in the show Oklahoma!'s first-night NYC crowd in the year 1943, gazing with jealous anguish as the performance continues, despising its bland sentimentality, hating the exclamation point at the conclusion of the name, but soul-crushingly cognizant of how devastatingly successful it is. He understands a success when he sees one – and perceives himself sinking into defeat.

Before the break, Lorenz Hart unhappily departs and makes his way to the bar at Sardi’s where the remainder of the movie takes place, and anticipates the (unavoidably) successful Oklahoma! troupe to appear for their post-show celebration. He is aware it is his performance responsibility to congratulate Rodgers, to pretend everything is all right. With suave restraint, Andrew Scott plays Rodgers, obviously uncomfortable at what they both know is the lyricist's shame; he provides a consolation to his pride in the form of a short-term gig composing fresh songs for their existing show the musical A Connecticut Yankee, which simply intensifies the pain.

• Actor Bobby Cannavale acts as the barkeeper who in conventional manner listens sympathetically to Hart’s arias of acerbic misery
• The thespian Patrick Kennedy acts as EB White, to whom Lorenz Hart unintentionally offers the notion for his children’s book the novel Stuart Little
• The actress Qualley acts as Weiland, the inaccessibly lovely Yale attendee with whom the movie envisions Hart to be complicatedly and self-harmingly in affection

Lorenz Hart has previously been abandoned by Rodgers. Certainly the cosmos can’t be so cruel as to cause him to be spurned by Elizabeth Weiland as well? But Qualley mercilessly depicts a girl who wants Lorenz Hart to be the laughing, platonic friend to whom she can confide her exploits with young men – as well of course the theater industry influencer who can promote her occupation.

Acting Excellence

Hawke demonstrates that Hart somewhat derives observational satisfaction in hearing about these boys but he is also genuinely, tragically besotted with Weiland and the film informs us of an aspect rarely touched on in movies about the domain of theater music or the films: the terrible overlap between career and love defeat. Nevertheless at a certain point, Hart is rebelliously conscious that what he has achieved will persist. It's an outstanding portrayal from Hawke. This could be a stage musical – but who shall compose the songs?

Blue Moon premiered at the London film festival; it is out on the 17th of October in the United States, November 14 in the United Kingdom and on the 29th of January in the Australian continent.