Blue Moon (2025)

What an odd little film. Throughout history there were greats whose work was so immense that we overlooked their (sometimes egregious) flaws because their work proved more timeless than their personhood. We never think about those who didn't make the cut, but maybe could have if they were just slightly more pleasant to be around. Well, Lorenz Hart was one of them. 

 I once thought I'd never live to see the day when Ethan Hawke is no longer hot, but here we are. Lorenz's mind is a treasure trove of genius, his body of work clearly magnificent, and his ambitions even more boundless. However, everything about this person is repugnant. He is insufferably elitist, grossly unprofessional, and much more self-obsessed than he lets on especially towards the people he wants to flatter.

However, Ethan really brought so much depth to this character. At the end he was sympathetic despite everything, because he really did love with his whole heart. He loved Richard. He loved Vivianne. He loved Elizabeth, but as the best line Casablanca goes: "No one ever loved me that much" He wishes people loved him as much they loved his work, and as much as he loved them, but he is just a hard person to love. He doesn't want to write to please the masses, but he still so badly wants their's approval, which is a fatal combination for any artist, and it did kill him.

Superb dialogue as always in any Linklater film. I'm glad he made something so reverent to address something as niche as this. Beyond it all this film is both a love and a curse letter to the art of writing. As Amy Poehler put it in a plausible Shakespearean quote, writing really is a bitch, but it's also the greatest thing you can ever do.