Blue Moon

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 drink) as Oklahoma! opens without him. It’s a sharp premise — one man’s crisis unfolding as his art form outgrows him.

Ethan Hawke gives Hart a fragile, slightly sozzled charm, equal parts wit and self-loathing. Andrew Scott is effortlessly smooth as Richard Rodgers, and Margaret Qualley slips through the gloom with a warmth that almost redeems the melancholy. The performances do most of the lifting; the direction keeps it intimate, if sometimes airless.

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