Rent Blue Moon (2025)

When the Music Moved On - Blue Moon review by griggs

Some films work best in small spaces, and Blue Moon leans right into that. Richard Linklater’s one-night, character study takes place in Sardi’s bar, where Lorenz Hart nurses his ego (and his drinks) as Oaklahoma! opens without him. It’s a sharp premise—one man’s crisis unfolding as his art form outgrows him.

Ehthan Hawke give Hart a fragile, slightly sizzled charm, equal parts wit and self-loathing. Andrew Scott is effortlessly smooth as Richard Rodger’s, and Margaret Qualley slips through the gloom with a warmth that almost redeems the melancholy. The performances fo much of the lifting; the direction keeps it intimate, if sometimes airless.

It’s an elegant film, if not especially exciting one—polished, well acted, and quietly sad. Blue Moon won’t dazzle, but it lingers, like the last drink ina bar that doen’t feel like home anyore.