Berlinale 2025 Review BLUE MOON: Lyricist Lorenz Hart at a Crossroads

It's the opening night of Oklahoma!, the play that will change Broadway musicals forever. At least that's what everybody keeps telling Lorenz Hart, erstwhile lyricist for composer Richard Rodgers.

The self-loathing and exceptionally articulate Hart (played by Ethan Hawke) is waiting at the bar in Sardi's, a Broadway hangout, where the after-party will take place upstairs. He may be trying to repair his relationship with Rodgers (Andrew Scott), who ended their partnership to work with lyricist Oscar Hammerstein II (Simon Delaney).

Or he may be there to steal Hammerstein's thunder. As his tells the bartender Eddie (Bobby Cannavale), Hammerstein's lyrics betray all of Hart's artistic principles. Those were forged over decades of collaboration with Rodgers on songs like "My Funny Valentine" and "You Took Advantage of Me."

But as Hart wants everyone to know, he is there to see Elizabeth Weiland (Margaret Qualley), a Yale student and aspiring poet he professes to love, despite his homosexual leanings.

Short and ungainly, with a preposterous comb-over, Hart is clearly delusional about romance. At the same time, he has remarkable insight into the creative process. He knows why Rodgers is a great composer, and just how pedestrian Hammerstein's words are. He can explain the mastery behind songs by George and Ira Gershwin, uncover the craft of E.B. White's (Patrick Kennedy) prose, and subtly adjust Weiland's poems.

But Hart just won't stop. His bitterness and cynicism, his constant barbs and complaints, and his crippling alcoholism drive everyone away. Even those trying to help him, like Rodgers, who takes the time to listen to Hart's latest pitch and offer him a chance to work on a revival.

Hawke delivers a bravura performance, spewing out insults, cadging drinks, winging his way through extended flights of verbiage, alternately enrapturing and appalling his listeners. He knows exactly why people hate him, yet can't stop his self-destructive tendencies.

Qualley is equally impressive, threading a line between exploiting Hart and caring for him. Scott, who won best supporting actor at Berlin, is masterful in a small part. His Rodgers tries his best to help someone at the end of his rope. In fact, as Hawke put it in a post-screening Q&A, everybody in the movie is trying to be kind.

Hart would be dead a few months later, and while you'd be hard-pressed to name one of his musicals, his songs remain timeless. Robert Kaplow's script does the lyricist justice, showing his brilliance and his flaws. Kaplow worked with Linklater on Me and Orson Welles; this project is considerably more sophisticated.

Linklater and Hawke are old hands at dialogue-heavy films, and this one glistens and gleams like a jewel. Almost all of Blue Moon takes place in Sardi's, with Shane F. Kelly’s camera embracing the limited sets with tracks and rack focus move that pair and isolate the characters.

In the end, nothing much happens in Blue Moon. Fights wither away, romances fail to ignite, hopes and dreams are put on hold. Linklater and his cast turn this night into vibrant cinema, showing us something of the magic of art.

Photo © Sabrina Lantos / Sony Pictures Classics. The film enjoyed its world premiere at the 2025 Berlinale.