SummaryOn 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!”.
Directed By:Richard Linklater
Written By:Robert Kaplow, Lorenz Hart, Elizabeth Weiland
Blue Moon
Metascore
Generally Favorable
78
User score
Generally Favorable
7.1
My Score
Drag or tap to give a rating
Hover and click to give a rating
Not available in your country?
ExpressVPN
Get 3 Extra months free
$6.67/mth
Top Cast
Metascore
Generally Favorable
86% Positive
37 Reviews
37 Reviews
14% Mixed
6 Reviews
6 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
Oct 16, 2025
100
Directed by his longtime friend and collaborator Richard Linklater, Mr. Hawke makes the most of what might be the year’s most brilliant screenplay, by Robert Kaplow, by delivering a Hart full of mischief and wit, desperation and self-loathing. There has never been a great book written about Hart, but at last he has this movie to renew and restore his story.
Feb 18, 2025
90
Blue Moon, which plays out on the night of the premiere of Rogers and Hammerstein’s first hit, Oklahoma!, is a romantic, funny, moving, life-affirming chamber piece that is itself a great example of a three-way creative collaboration – between director Richard Linklater, writer Robert Kaplow and actor Ethan Hawke.
User score
Generally Favorable
69% Positive
53 Ratings
53 Ratings
25% Mixed
19 Ratings
19 Ratings
6% Negative
5 Ratings
5 Ratings
Oct 25, 2025
10
If Hawke and Scott don't get Oscars, I will be disappointed. Ditto for the director and writer. This was completely fascinating and every character was beautifully acted. The script was brilliant. I'm old enough to know all of the references and to feel my insight into those times and those characters deepen for having seen it.
Dec 9, 2025
9
It's honestly heartbreaking, i get that Blue Moon isn't for everyone, it's basically a film built on one long conversation, but for me, as long as a story keeps me invested, even something this dialogue-heavy can really land, and it does, the performances are terrific across the board, especially Ethan Hawke, it just another reminder how good of an actor he really is. For about 100 minutes, you're pulled into this raw, winding conversation from someone who's clearly struggling, and it hits straight in the chest, the film almost got me at the end, the way it quietly accepts that love doesn't always work out the way you wish it would, and neither do life, work, or relationships in general, sometimes things just drift off-plan. All of that, delivered through a single night conversation, makes Blue Moon a surprisingly powerful experience, it's heartbreaking, but also mesmerizing, i really, truly, amazed by Blue Moon.
Feb 18, 2025
83
Yes, the film is a heartfelt homage to Lorenz Hart, but also to the strength necessary to say goodbye to the world as you knew it, so even the occasional bitterness Hart speaks with has a balmy quality to it.
Oct 16, 2025
80
Blue Moon provides us with a myriad of its own words with which to approach the essence of Lorenz Hart, who it would seem, died much too young and without a love of his own. But the lasting impression of the film and its subject is, indeed, ineffable.
Oct 22, 2025
75
The quiet intensity of “Blue Moon” is at times agonizing. Any more would have been too much.
Nov 6, 2025
63
Blue Moon is a portrait of a man on the precipice of an artistic and personal cliff (we learn in the opening sequence that Hart would die within the year, at the age of 48). Mostly, though, the movie is about Hawke talking.
Feb 18, 2025
40
One of the most committed performances of Ethan Hawke’s career is cruelly undercut by some ridiculous “shrinking” tricks in this biopic about the Broadway songwriter Lorenz Hart.
Nov 30, 2025
9
With a small cast, a four-room set, and monologues galore, Blue Moon could have been a stage play devoid of life on the screen, but Linklater and Hawke make it crackle with discomfort and hilarity from beginning to end.
Feb 25, 2026
6
Whole lotta talkin goin on. It's essentially a 1.5 hour monologue in which the main character barely takes a breath as he spews well written inner dialog for all to hear.
Dec 26, 2025
6
Blue Moon is entirely Ethan Hawke's one-man show; beyond that, there's nothing else to recommend it.
Oct 26, 2025
6
Lorenz Hart (Ethan Hawke) and Richard Rogers (Andrew Scott) wrote numerous successful musicals for 25 years. This film takes place on opening night of “Oklahoma!,” which is the first time Rogers worked with someone else (Oscar Hammerstein). It’s almost a one-man show, as Hawke goes on and on about his talent, his frustrations and his new infatuation (Margaret Qualley). There are a few minor interactions, but the majority of the script is Hart’s ramblings. That said, Richard Kaplow’s script is sometimes smart or clever. Hawke is a longtime collaborator of Richard Linklater and the director has given Hawke the opportunity to create this neurotic character, which he does with admirable skill (and some cinematic tricks to make him look shorter than almost everyone else). It will surely go down as one of Hawkes' career highlights. The movie is less memorable.
Dec 21, 2025
2
I generally love Linklaters works, but this Oscar bait plays like a stage production that accidentally wandered onto a movie set. The actors do their best, and they are the main reason to keep watching. Beyond that, the story just sits there, stubbornly uneventful. If you want proof that one location can still crackle with tension, 12 Angry Men already solved that problem decades ago.
Production Company:
- Sony Pictures Classics
- Renovo Media Group
- Detour Pictures
- Wild Atlantic Pictures
- Cinetic Media
- Not to Be Seen Productions
- Under the Influence Productions
- Concord Originals
Release Date:Oct 17, 2025
Duration:1 h 40 m
Rating:R
Awards
Golden Globes, USA
• 2 Nominations
Academy Awards, USA
• 2 Nominations
Irish Film and Television Awards
• 1 Win & 8 Nominations
