“Blue moon. You saw me standing alone…” The song has been stuck in my head ever since I finished watching the new indie film, Blue Moon, starring Ethan Hawke as pioneering lyricist Lorenz Hart. The film is very atmospheric and arty, but has a certain mainstream appeal as well, especially for those (like me) who can appreciate a bit of broadway musical history. It’s part biopic, part period drama, part tragedy, part black comedy. And it all takes place over the course of one night, almost entirely in one location— legendary NYC restaurant Sardi’s, where stars of the Great White Way often go to wait out those first reviews that can make or break a show’s chance at success.
The date is is March 31, 1943, opening night for the lively new musical Oklahoma!, the first musical that composer Richard Rodgers (Andrew Scott) has created with lyricist Oscar Hammerstein (Simon Delaney). It marks the beginning of the Rodgers & Hammerstein era, and the near end of Rodgers & Hart. Blue Moon follows Hart as he begrudgingly (and drunkenly) witnesses the celebration of his longtime friend and collaborator’s grand achievement with a new partner, and ponders what it all means for his own personal and professional future. Hart emotes a mix of envy, jealousy, cynicism, sarcasm, appreciation, dry wit and frustration as he vents to a cast of characters that includes the sympathetic restaurant bartender Eddie (Bobby Cannavale) and a Yale drama student named Elizabeth (Margaret Qualley) that Hart is obsessed with, in love with, or both. (Note: The Elizabeth character is fictional, but the screenplay was inspired by correspondence that existed between Hart and a Yale student named Elizabeth).
Rogers & Hart were a successful pair, despite having different styles and personalities. They collaborated on 28 stage musicals and hundreds of songs before Hart died in 1943 at the age of 48. Blue Moon, My Funny Valentine, The Lady is a Tramp, Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered, to name but a few. Classics in the Great American Songbook.
Rogers & Hammerstein went on to become the most successful duo in Broadway musical history with hits that included Oklahoma!, Carousel, Cinderella, South Pacific, The King & I, and The Sound of Music. They ushered in what became known as the Golden Age of Broadway musicals. (I’ve probably seen them all!).
Blue Moon explores what had to be a bittersweet time for Hart, a diminutive man with apparent low self-esteem despite his creative genius. Hawke is mesmerizing in the role, having transformed himself into a short balding man with a combover. The film marks his ninth collaboration with director Richard Linklater (Boyhood, Before Sunrise trilogy). The story can move a tad slow at times, but overall, Blue Moon is an interesting, intimate and absorbing film that is likely to grab the attention of the Academy, or at the very least, the Film Independent Spirit Awards.
Blue Moon opens in theaters October 24. Running time: 100 minutes.