Blue Moon - Review 

Rating: 4 out of 5

THE creative partnership between director Richard Linklater and Ethan Hawke continues to bear rich fruit with their eight movie collaboration, Blue Moon.

Ironically, the film itself is about another creative partnership: albeit one that is coming to an end. It examines the break-up of the once prolific Broadway duo Lorenz Hart and Richard Rodgers - the latter of whom went on to find further acclaim as one half of Oscar Hammerstein II.

Hart, as lyricist, worked with Rodgers on numbers like The Lady Is a Tramp, Manhattan, My Funny Valentine and, of course, Blue Moon.

But their relationship became strained by Hart’s alcoholism, which in turn made him unreliable and prone to depressive outbursts, prompting Rodgers to break with him and partner with Hammerstein on the hit show Oklahoma!, which preceded a raft of further stage and screen smashes.

Hart, meanwhile, quickly went into decline, eventually dying from pneumonia.

The film takes place over the course of one evening - in the wake of Oklahoma!’s opening night - as Hart (played by Hawke) contemplates his own impending ‘failure’ in the bar at Sardi’s - the venue where the triumphant Oklahoma! company will also eventually show up for their after-party.

Early on, he’s the life and soul of his own party, holding centre stage as Bobby Cannavale’s sympathetic barman listens intently to Hart’s life anecdotes and tales of love.

But once Scott’s Rodgers arrives and the two clash over their respective artistic vision, it becomes clear what lies in store for the once formidable partnership.

Added to Hart’s turmoil is the presence of Elizabeth Weiland (Margaret Qualley), the unattainably beautiful Yale student with whom the film imagines Hart to be complicatedly and delusionally in love with.

Indeed, Robert Kaplow’s screenplay cleverly takes its cues from Hart’s real-life letters to his protege, building a credible what if? scenario around Hart’s fall from grace.

Here, Weiland is portrayed as a mischievous, hopelessly charismatic tease… someone who knows how to keep Hart interested but who uses her sexuality as bait… all the while keeping Hart as both her confidante and her access to bigger things. Hence, while Hart giddily pines for her, she pines for an introduction to Rodgers, thereby setting in motion another of the tragedies to befall Hart.

Hart knows his fate, of course, but Hawke delivers a masterclass in the way he outwardly masks his true feelings, while still conveying the utter despair of a man falling apart at the seams.

He is, by turns, infectious, intelligent and scathing when holding court on his own terms, yet also heartbroken, stubborn and desperate to regain his former place when sparring with Rodgers or hanging on Weiland’s every word or sexual revelation.

Hence, while not always likeable given his propensity for self-aggrandising and showmanship, Hawke maintains our sympathies to cut an eventually forlorn, hopeless and utterly tragic figure come the movie’s end: hinting at his former glories while desperately attempting to maintain an air of dignity amid his current pain.

Kaplow’s script is also insightful, offering Hawke plenty to play with, whether dissecting modern art and it’s potential to be either thought provoking or superficial, as well as delving deeper into sexual politics, social game playing and the impact of war (the story takes place during the closing years of WWII).

And while Hawke captivates throughout, the supporting cast also rise to the material, with Scott superb as the equally talented Rodgers, acutely aware of the pain caused by his artistic decisions as well as what it takes to make the next best steps in his own career, and Cannavale a lovely foil and double act for Hawke to play off.

Qualley, meanwhile, is both sexy and conniving as the go-getting Weiland, a woman ahead of her time, unafraid to use her sexuality to get what she wants and intuitively adept at manoeuvring in a man’s world.

And despite being restricted to its single setting, which gives it a deliberately stagey feel, Linklater - as he showed with the likes of his Before Sunrise and Sunset movies - is a dab hand at keeping things interesting just by using the power of conversation.

The overall result is a bittersweet gem of a movie that deservedly attracted awards recognition for Hawke, while paying effective tribute to the man at the centre of proceedings.

One hopes that given the sustained quality of the Linklater-Hawke partnership (which has also yielded Boyhood) there’s no break-up anywhere in sight anytime soon.

Certificate: 15

Running time: 100mins