Anyone even remotely familiar with Broadway musicals is probably well aware of the collaboration between Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein that led to massive hit musicals, such as Oklahoma!, South Pacific, The King and I, Carousel, The Sound of Music, and so many more. Fewer people might be aware of Rodgers’ partnership with Lorenz Hart, which ran from 1919 until Hart’s death in 1943. Besides 28 musicals, the duo wrote songs like “My Funny Valentine” and “Blue Moon,” which became classic staples of the Great American Songbook.
In Richard Linklater’s new film Blue Moon, Ethan Hawke reunites with his long-time friend with whom he received two Oscar nominations for co-writing Before Sunset (2005) and Before Midnight (2014) and who directed Hawke to his second acting Oscar nomination for 2015’s Boyhood. Together, the duo tell a story from later in Hart’s life, taking place at Sardi’s bar in New York City, the night of the Broadway premiere of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Oklahoma! The film’s first act features Hawke, barely recognizable with Hart’s bald pate and short stature, regaling stories to his favorite Sardi’s bartender, Eddie (Bobby Cannavale). He is mostly gushing about the significantly younger Elizabeth (Margaret Qualley), who sees Lorenz more as a mentor than as a potential lover. Eventually, Hart’s collaborator Richard Rodgers (played by Andrew Scott from All of Us Strangers and Fleabag) shows up with his entourage, having begun to work with Hammerstein due to Lorenz’s problems with alcohol and unreliable behavior.
With a history of great films together, Blue Moon sits alongside some of the best work done by Hawke with Linklater, since it gives the audience a chance to learn more about this eccentric character from music that is never given the credit of his long-time collaborator. Based around a brilliant screenplay by Robert Kaplow, author of the book Me and Orson Welles (which Linklater previously directed an adaptation of), the film shows off great work by all four actors in a single setting over a short period of time, and Hawke’s performance could garner him a fifth Oscar nomination.
Cinema Daily US had a chance to speak with Hawke, Scott, and Cannavale in a brief video interview that you can watch in the player above.
Blue Moon opens in select cities on Friday, October 17, then will expand nationwide on October 24.
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Director: Richard Linklater
Screenwriter: Robert Kaplow
Cast: Ethan Hawke, Andrew Scott, Bobby Cannavale, Margaret Qualley, Giles Surridge, Simon Delaney
Producer: Richard Linklater, John Sloss, Mike Blizzard
Production Co: Renovo Media Group, Detour Pictures, Wild Atlantic Pictures, Cinetic Media
Distributor: Sony Pictures Classics
Rating: R (Language | Sexual References)
Genre: Drama
Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): October 17, 2025 (limited)
Runtime: 1 hour, 40 minutes
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You can watch the trailer for Blue Moon below: