On the evening of March 31, 1943, legendary lyricist Lorenz Hart confronts his shattered self-confidence in Sardi’s bar as his former collaborator, Richard Rodgers, celebrates the opening night of his ground-breaking hit musical, “Oklahoma!”
- fhe825d agoBlue Moon is basically a two-hour monologue by Mr. Hawke, with a couple of conversations scattered in between to bring the whole thing home. And honestly, poor guy. The movie puts almost everything on his shoulders: the regret, the ego, the sadness, the wit, the drinking, the old wounds, and that exhausted feeling of a man who knows the world may have already moved on without asking his permission. This is not a fast movie. It is not built around big events or dramatic turns. It is mostly a man talking, remembering, defending himself, attacking others, and slowly revealing how broken and aware he really is. That can be tiring, but it also gives the movie its strange charm. You are not watching a plot explode; you are watching a personality collapse in slow motion. The conversations around him help, but they mostly exist to reflect him back to himself. Every exchange feels like another little reminder that talent does not save you from bitterness, and intelligence does not always make you wise. Hawke carries that very well. He makes the character annoying, sad, funny, pathetic, and human at the same time. What stayed with me most was the idea that “happy endings are easy.” They were onto something there. A happy ending is clean. It gives the audience comfort. But real life does not always offer that. Sometimes there is no grand redemption, no perfect apology, no final applause. Sometimes there is only another drink, another conversation, another memory, and the realization that the best parts of your life may already be behind you. I would not call Blue Moon amazing, but it is thoughtful. It has something to say about fame, regret, aging, and the stories people tell themselves to survive disappointment. Not for everyone, but it stayed with me more than I expected.
- Michael FosterDecember 3, 2025Linklater and Hawke lure you in within the first ten minutes— then suddenly you find yourself chasing every piece of dialog at the chance of filling out this canvas. Qualley is stunningly captivating and Ethan Hawke's transformation goes from a simple combover to devistatingly human. Beautifully tight from end to end, chef's kiss.
- Rick MastersNovember 28, 2025I’m a huge fan of Richard Linklater and this certainly says within his comfort zone. A dialogue heavy, primarily one location film that features one of Ethan Hawke’s best performances. The issue here is, if you’re not particularly interested in the subject matter or the character, then its hard to stay focused. I drifted more times than I can count and had to return to it the next day… only to have to continue the battle. Sadly BLUE MOON was a real struggle.
- EdmondZippoFebruary 21, 2026When you see a man's heart break through his eyes... Extremely my shit. Of Human Bondage deeply marked me when I read it, years ago, so when he pulled it out, I was even more all in than I was before. Drunk on beauty, for sure. I love these songs so much. Not surprised that I loved watching this.
- LivewireAdminFebruary 3, 2026I really, really enjoyed this. Ethan Hawke was terrific and not at all like I've seen him before. The script was sharp and interesting, it felt like this could be a stage play (which makes sense based on the subjects of the story). Margaret Qualley was great but when is she not? Richard Linklater is a director that I don't have a good grasp on, I'm gonna have to fill in some of the holes in his filmography for myself. Would definitely watch this again.
- cultfilmlikerJanuary 8, 2026Love that the emotional thesis of this film can accurately be summed up with Kanye’s “30 Hours” I, too, dislike Oklahoma! That’s what he gets for not introducing Knuckles to Rodgers Margaret Qualley is young but I’m not sure she should still be playing a 20 year old! Apologies! Currently Ranked #49/192 in 2025 Ranked
- Tyler SDecember 2, 2025Love talky Linklater and teaming up with Hawke again always makes me happy. The dialogue was funny and the banter between the small cast was captivating. The movie flew by even though it basically only takes place in one location. Not sure how they made Hawke look 5 feet tall the whole time, that was very impressive. Hawke now joins Leo and Michael B Jordan as my favourite performances of the year so far (I haven't seen Marty Supreme yet but I predict Chalamet will be added to my list). They should be the front runners for best actor this year. I'll be bummed if all three don't get nominated. 👍👍 8.5/10
- susan.603November 30, 2025Such a great window into a composer that aspired give the public poetry instead of pap. Sadly the dream and ideas that might have enriched us further fell intoxicated into a tragic ending. This sadness leaves me looking for more of what this man wrote and while Rogers and Hamerstein wrote great songs this film portrays their lyrics content as wanting.
- Oʂɯαʅԃσ RσყҽƚƚNovember 17, 2025I am super impressed with Robert Kaplow's frenetic script and with Ethan Hawke's relentless dialogue. This entire movie is a real-time narrative set in two rooms of a pub. Hawke's character, Lorenz Hart, talks almost non-stop in a manic state and is in constant need of an audience.
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Blue Moon was released on October 24, 2025.
Blue Moon was directed by Richard Linklater.
Blue Moon has a runtime of 1h 40m.
Blue Moon was produced by John Sloss, Richard Linklater, Mike Blizzard.
On the evening of March 31, 1943, legendary lyricist Lorenz Hart confronts his shattered self-confidence in Sardi’s bar as his former collaborator, Richard Rodgers, celebrates the opening night of his ground-breaking hit musical, “Oklahoma!”
The key characters in Blue Moon are Lorenz Hart (Ethan Hawke), Eddie (Bobby Cannavale), Richard Rodgers (Andrew Scott).
Blue Moon is rated R.
Blue Moon is a Biography, Drama, Music film.
Blue Moon has an audience rating of 7.6 out of 10.
Blue Moon has made $3.6M at the box office.