Ethan Hawke was nominated for a Best Actor Golden Globe in a musical / comedy category for Blue Moon… and I can certainly see why.
Hawke plays Lorenzo (Larry) Hart, the lyric writer part to Richard Rogers musical composing double act.
The movie, directed by Richard Linklater, starts at the end with Hart’s tragic demise.
We are then transported back to New York’s Sardi’s Restaurant on an evening in 1943, where the rest of the movie is set. During the 100-minute runtime, we engage with Hart’s tragic and often risqué witty dialogue. Hart interacts with the bar tender, a writer sitting quietly in the corner, a beautiful Yale art’s student, and Richard Rodgers.
(On a side note, the writer in the corner is EB White who wrote Stuart Little and Charlotte’s Web.)
The true story is based around Larry Hart’s past successes and his infatuation with his protégé, Elizabeth, played by Margaret Qualley.
The film dives deeply into Hart’s tortured personal life and mental struggles. Hart was known to be gay, but in the movie describes himself as “ambisexual” and “omnisexual”, explaining to the bartender that he needs to be attracted to everyone to understand them in his writing.
In contrast, ‘Knuckles’, a WW2 serviceman, gently plays some Rodgers and Hart songs on piano in the background.
In essence, Hart is a lonely alcoholic, depressed about seeing his previous writing partner reach great heights without him.
Rubbing salt into his wounds, Richard Rogers arrives with his new musical partner, Oscar Hammerstein to celebrate the opening of Oklahoma!. Rogers and Hammerstein would go on to become the greatest musical theatre partnership of the twentieth century, with hits like The Sound of Music and South Pacific.
If you’re expecting a good old fast-moving singing and dancing musical experience, this isn’t it.
Instead, it is an adventure in words with a beautifully crafted script that Hawke and co-stars expertly deliver.
The film is M rated because of its fruity language and sexual references.
Blue Moon opens in Perth on 29th January 2026