By Rachel Galvin
Once in a blue moon, you come across a piece of masterful cinema that you can’t stop thinking about. The film I just watched was one of those films … It was the kind of film that leaves you hanging on every word yet exhausted by the endless stream of verbiage and aching lack of movement. It makes you sit still with the main character and endure his internal struggles, much like those around him in the film.
The movie is “Blue Moon” and the main character is played by Ethan Hawke, who delves so deeply into his role that he is unrecognizable in every way. If he is not nominated for an Oscar, something is wrong.
With his oversized jacket, huge cigar in his mouth and combover, he is the very essence of a failing human being, and its not just his looks… it’s where he is in his life. His brilliance stands the test of time, his wit is without question, but some people have run out of patience with his imposing personality, endless drinking and lack of professionalism.
He plays lyricist Lorenz Hart, the once partner of the dapper young and confident Richard Rodgers (played by Andrew Scott) who has at this point left him to work with a new partner – Oscar Hammerstein (Simon Delaney), who seems a bit unsure of himself. Of course those two would go on to be legends of the American theater, creating plays like “Oklahoma!” “Carousel,” “Sound of Music” and many others. They left Lorenz Hart in the dustbin of history with not many remembering he existed. But he did do plays like “A Connecticut Yankee” and “Babes in Arms.”
The play takes place in the 1940s and is all set within a theater bar it seems primarily with Hart unleashing his every thought upon the bartender (Bobby Cannavale), who is hesitant to pour him a drink at first, obviously knowing his propensity. Harz is dripping with disdain about the new play, which everyone is watching in the theater… mocking everything from lines like “surrey with a fringe on top” to the fact it has an exclamation point at the end. His remarks are biting and, although in real life the play remains a classic, his commentary also rings true to a seasoned critic. It is nostalgic for a time that never existed, he says. He wants to create something with more substance and humor.
His attitude is not just about being jealous of not being involved with the play, which is getting huge accolades, but it is about being tossed aside by his longtime friend and collaborator … and also about a girl. The girl, Elizabeth, is all of 20 years old to his 47. She is a vision with a wavy bleached blonde bob and shining green eyes, a tall stature and an intellect and wit to match. He is smitten. He spends most of the film pining away by her beauty to anyone who will listen. He finds few takers – the bartender, a soldier who plays the piano and a writer. All the characters are mere extras to him. He sucks all the air out of the room. Everyone is a captive audience, some finally escaping his endless talking.
It isn’t until he talks with Rodgers that he meets his match, someone who can stand up to him, bat at him back and forth like a tennis match, and Elizabeth (played by Margaret Qualley), whose storytelling lures him into a trance, like a schoolgirl who goes mum in order to hear more about her friend’s escapades.
The idea of Elizabeth goes beyond just this young girl. It’s about her vivaciousness, her beauty. She is his prodigy, at the beginning of her career, while he is at the end. He wants to suck the marrow from her, wants to know every aspect of her relationship, to enjoy every morsel of a life he no longer can have.
We know from the beginning that, ultimately, this story is a tragedy and, by the end, you see the train wreck his life has become, the abandonment he feels, the longing for something more, the desperation. He is washed up, a Willy Loman, unable to change himself enough to move forward, stuck in his sentiments, and in the past, unable to adapt to others’ ideas. His life has become reminiscing about the good old days and criticizing everyone else, rather than creating anything new. He is all pie in the sky ideas that no one finds feasible anymore.
As the camera pulls away, he continues to do what he probably often does … listen to himself talk while others stand by listening the best they can as he pontificates on life, trying to keep them and himself entertained and make himself still feel relevant.
Everything from the size of the flowers in the scene to the quoting of lines from Casablanca add to the inadequacy of the character and his heartbreak.
Director Richard Linklater is known for working on films that are focused around dialogue and this one certainly fits the bill. Writer Robert Kaplow is to be commended for his script. Every word was carefully chosen, filled with in depth description, written more like a play or a novel than a standard film. And many witty lines gained plenty of laughs.
The film is perfection for an actor wanting something meaty to bite into, but it is a hard watch for the audience with no attention span used to watching soundbytes on the Internet these days rather than sitting through a cinematic drama with zero action. This is the essence of what independent cinema is about – not shallow fluff, but in depth character driven drama that means something.
The film was shown opening night at the OUTShine Film Festival tonight (October 16) at Savor Cinema in Ft. Lauderdale and can be seen virtually
The movie is well worth seeing, just be prepared for the pace, and see it before awards season because it is sure to be nominated – for acting, writing and probably direction, after all, it is Linklater. He has not won an Oscar yet, but he has been nominated for five.
The OUTShine Film Festival continues through the 23rd in Broward County and then heads to Miami, until the 26th. You can watch many films from home virtually as well. For more information, visit OUTShineFilm.com.
Opening night had a pre-party for some filmmmakers, sponsors, etc. and then the film was followed with an after party down the street at Masa and More where they had spanakopita shrimp and more.
“Blue Moon,” is being released to select theaters starting on October 24.
