Blue Moon is a 2025 American biographical comedy-drama film, directed by Richard Linklater from an original script written by Robert Kaplow. It had its world premiere at the Berlin International Film Festival in February (where it was nominated for the Golden Bear) and was released in the UK on 28 November.

The film is set in Sardi’s restaurant on Broadway on 31 March 1943, the opening night of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Oklahoma!. However, the subject of the drama is neither of these, but Lorenz Hart (Ethan Hawke), ex-writing partner of Rodgers, barely eight months before his untimely alcohol-induced death. The single location would seem to lend itself to a chamber-play rather than a film, and certainly the first half, which takes place at the bar, is particularly theatrical. Here we learn about Hart through his interactions with Eddie, the barman (Bobby Cannavale), Morty, the piano player (Jonah Lees), and EB White, author of Stuart Little and Charlotte’s Web (Patrick Kennedy), who just happens to be in the bar. The interplay between these four characters is a delight; I was particularly struck by Kennedy’s portrayal of White, and Ethan Hawke gives the performance of a lifetime as Hart.

In the second half, the post-show party arrives, opening up the film with an extensive cast of characters, including the girl with whom Hart is totally infatuated, Elizabeth Weiland, a Yale art student (Margaret Qualley). This might seem a little odd for an openly gay man, however Hart’s infatuation speaks volumes about his addictive personality. The arrival of Richard Rodgers (Andrew Scott) provides an insight into what went wrong with the Rodgers and Hart writing partnership. Whilst this was all most informative and helped to give a more rounded portrait of Hart as a flawed genius, I did find myself missing the wit and charm of the four-handed opening 45 minutes.

I must mention the music, which was a delight from start to finish, and sets the tone for the whole film, together with the quality of the acting, which is excellent throughout.

If you have any interest at all in the great Broadway musicals, then I thoroughly recommend Blue Moon to you; and even if you don’t, it is a most enjoyable way to spend 100 minutes.