Richard Linklater's Blue Moon Reveals Lorenz Hart's Genius and Torment

A new film explores the troubled yet brilliant life of lyricist Lorenz Hart. Blue Moon, directed by Richard Linklater, focuses on the night of the Oklahoma! premiere in 1943. The story unfolds almost entirely inside Sardi's, the famous New York restaurant, where Hart's sharp wit and deep sorrow take centre stage.

Ethan Hawke stars as Hart, a role that earned him an Oscar nomination. The film paints a deeply empathetic portrait of a man whose genius was matched only by his personal struggles.

The film opens with Hart witnessing his longtime collaborator, Richard Rodgers, leaving him for Oscar Hammerstein II. Their partnership had defined Broadway for years, but this betrayal cuts deep. The scene sets the tone for a story where Hart dominates—his life described as a play in which he delivers 99 percent of the dialogue, while everyone else fades into the background.

Hart's lyrics were as clever as they were dark. In *To Keep My Love Alive*, he used an ABCB rhyme scheme to deliver macabre humour: *'Sir Marmaduke was awfully tall / He didn't fit in bed / I solved that problem easily / I just removed his head.'* Another of his 'heap rhymes' followed an AAAB pattern, with a double triplet in the first three lines: *'I married many men, a ton of them / And yet I was untrue to none of them / Because I bumped off every one of them / To keep my love alive.'* Just weeks after the *Oklahoma!* premiere, Hart died of pneumonia following a heavy drinking binge. His death in November 1943 marked the end of an era, leaving behind a legacy of razor-sharp lyrics and a life lived between brilliance and despair.

Blue Moon captures Hart's final night with raw honesty. The film does not shy away from his pain, nor does it overlook his unmatched talent. Hawke's performance ensures that Hart's voice—both in song and in sorrow—remains unforgettable.

The story lingers on the contrast between his public wit and private anguish. By confining the action to a single evening, the film mirrors the way Hart's own life often felt: a fleeting, intense moment before the lights went out.