Blue Moon

 I’ve just covered a Song Sung Blue, now let’s hear about a Blue Moon. 

Unlike a few other films, Blue Moon never rose to a theatre near me. It’s been on-demand for at least a month now, but I’d rather not pay $19.99 if I could help it. Well, it got discounted this week, so I bought it digitally. Let’s see what folks have seen since October.

It’s March 31st, 1943, and Oklahoma! has just debuted on Broadway. Rodgers and Hammerstein’s breakout hit would, of course, codify American musical theatre for decades to come. But tonight, Lorenz Hart (Ethan Hawke), Richard Rodgers’ (Andrew Scott) former collaborator, seriously doesn’t see what the fuss is about. He finds it a cornpone mess, but he knows that it will be playing long after he’s dead. Since we first see him collapse on the street and die off-screen that November, we know it won’t be that long for him.

Hart walks out on Oklahoma!’s title song to drink his sorrows at Sardi’s. The rest of the film has him hang around Sardi’s, talking to bartender Eddie (Bobby Cannavale), a fictional pianist named Morty Rifkin (Jonah Lees), and even a few actual famous people. Most significantly, he tries to patch things up with Rodgers and maybe go steady with the significantly younger Elizabeth Weiland (Margaret Qualley). He’ll try to make the most of it, even if everything doesn’t go his way.

Robert Kaplow’s screenplay, which Richard Linklater directed, says it’s inspired by Hart and Elizabeth’s letters to each other. Obviously, I don't have the source material on hand, but maybe it's not necessary, considering that this whole movie is a "what-if" scenario. Who knows if Hart actually met all those future famous people at Sardi's? Who knows if Elizabeth actually existed or is a composite? But Oklahoma!'s reviews, which we hear quoted during the afterparty, are actually factual. They were really wowed by its ability to blend songs, dances together with a story.

It's interesting that the radio reporter announcing Hart's death calls him and Rodgers "America's Gilbert and Sullivan." W.S. Gilbert, in case you're interested, was rather cantankerous and irascible, which perfectly describes Hart in this film. He showcases his entertaining ego as he and Eddie quote Casablanca, dismisses Oklahoma!'s exclamation mark, and even its source material - the now-obscure play Green Grow the Lilacs. Until the afterparty arrives, it's just him, Eddie, and Morty, with Hawke never wasting a word as Hart. When he's silent, you can tell that he realizes he's at the end of his rope. He can't even fathom why Rodgers would rather do more serious works - as Sullivan did - than their satirical ones.

Obviously, Rodgers and Hammerstein (Simon Delaney) figure into the plot, but who else do have? Hart helps inspire E.B. White (Patrick Kennedy) to write Stuart Little. He also annoys a young Stephen Sondheim (Cillian Sullivan) with a joke that "Stevie" will use decades later in A Funny Thing Happened on The Way to The Forum. Elizabeth brings her classmate, George Roy Hill (David Rawle), for a quick cameo. Morty, while fictional, is still a pretty cool guy. Let's not forget Elizabeth, whose personality, emotional maturity and chemistry with Hart are simply radiant. He doesn't get the girl, but it surely was fun while it lasted. I wonder if I'm reading into this optimistically.

Let’s, ahem, sing some praises for the technical works. First, to the makeup and hairstyling crew, for rendering Hawke unrecognizable as Hart. You might not even know that this short, balding man shares an actor with the Grabber until you hear him talk. I still have a little trouble connecting them together. Yes, I also said he was short, as the real-life Hart was a foot shorter than Hawke. A few seamless camera tricks, plus some inherent quirks in Susie Cullen's production design, help pull off this illusion. This is practically a filmed stage play, considering the scope, and thankfully, the Sardi's set is never boring or claustrophobic. It helps that there's a pleasant score by Graham Reynolds, which mostly adapts old favorites, to accentuate the mood.

It may be a film about a man's final months, but Blue Moon is surprisingly entertaining. Hawke’s performance may be getting all the awards buzz, but it also has a fun supporting cast and stellar script. Really, everyone involved should take a bow or two. You'll have to see it for yourself, however and whenever you can. It might get you in the mood for Oklahoma!, or may be Rodgers and Hart's whole catalog. If I'm in the mood, I might review Linklater's other film of the season, Nouvelle Vague. But that's it for today.