I went to see Blue Moon yesterday not really knowing what to expect. It is the story of Larry Hart, lyricist who worked with Richard Rodgers of Rodgers and Hammerstein before Hammerstein came along. Doesn't sound very exciting does it? However, do not be put off. This film is in my top 5 of the year, in a year albeit that hasn't produced much in the way of good movies.
Before Hammerstein Rodgers used to work with Hart and produced a big chunk of his best Broadway musicals with Hart. Then Hart became unreliable through alcohol, not turning up on time, and basically a drunk. Rodgers was a man of order and routine and got to the end of his tether with Hart and in steps Hammerstein and the rest is, as they say, history.
Ethan Hawke plays Hart and absolutely nails it. I loved the script, the balance of pathos and bathos, Hawke's delivery just right and then in walks Andrew Scott as Richard Rodgers, what could there be not to like!
The film captures 1940s Broadway just as I imagine it. The film is all set in a bar on the opening night of Oklahoma! Hart is the has-been drowning his sorrows having left the show early because he couldn't bear to watch it to the end.
Hart dies a not-so-old drunk and alone. It is poignantly sad. Director Richard Linklater does it well and I see from just flashing up his name via Google that he has worked with Ethan Hawke several times before. He knew the right man for the job.
Ethan Hawke deserves an Oscar for this part.
Not a film I have read or heard about until now, and not entirely sure it is something I want to watch, as I find the downwards spiral of an alocholic very hard to witness, even if it's "only" a film (but we know it happened to a real person, and keeps happening all the time).
ReplyDeleteI see where you are coming from Meike but I think you would be missing a gem of a script were you to write it off completely. It is more of a monologue of a life story coming out, although Hart is talking to the bartender most of the time, which bartenders get used to hearing having worked in many bars myself, and I was gobsmacked at how Hawke could learn all those lines - he does almost all the speaking in the movie.
DeleteIncidentally, on another topic, I noticed you asked on another blog how an artist/writer knows when something is finished. The answer is that he doesn't and after many edits he eventually has to tell himself to stop. I couldn't answer you on the blog itself as it would not be published.
Thank you for this, Rachel. I know of course which blog you are talking about.
DeleteWe did a lot about this sub ject on my recently completed Masters course. It is a fact that nobody really knows when to stop so you just have to draw a line. Our poet laureate Simon Armitage says this too, that he has to say "stop" to himself. I thought it would be of interest to his readers as it was a good question.
DeleteIt is rare to find a decent film these days. Most seem to be blood, sex and violence. This one sounds good but I would need to watch it on my tablet with subtitles.
ReplyDeleteYes, I have found this year the films coming out have not been outstanding but this one does stand out. I try to spread myself around to all genres of film but I find it difficult to get into sci-fi, horror and fantasy and I also don't like violence and am used to covering my eyes or pulling my hat over my face!
DeleteMy kind of film Rachel. I just watched the trailer. I think City fans would like it also. They sing Blue Moon all the time.
ReplyDeleteYes, you would like it Dave. Blue Moon is a great classic song which, of course, Hart wrote, and wonderful that it is still so popular. If only he could know this. I had forgotten that it was the Man City anthem. Thanks Dave.
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