Ethan Hawke received his third acting Oscar nomination for portraying Lorenz “Larry” Hart in Blue Moon.
Blue Moon follows songwriter Lorenz Hart hanging around Sardi’s on Oklahoma! opening night, a success of his songwriting partner Richard Rodgers, but without Hart as his lyricist.
Ethan Hawke receives his first leading Oscar nomination in a fairly atypical role for Hawke. Hawke has in the past had transformative parts but in the role Hart, who was five foot, sporting not the best combover and a man of constant flamboyancy, this is an idiosyncratic performance within Hawke’s oeuvre. This is the most “look at me” performance Hawke has ever given and I actually don’t mean this as a criticism given that is entirely within the attention of the character of Lorenz Hart as depicted in Blue Moon. The film after all is constructed essentially as a stage play, where it wouldn’t be the hardest to tweak into a one man show stage play honestly, and one where the star would be well above the title on the marquee with so much of the attention of the piece is to see that star act. Hawke is granted this opportunity to act up a storm essentially and it really wasn’t too surprising, and really quite fitting to the character of Hart in the film that there has been a degree of disagreement on this performance. Fitting the bit of Hart throughout the film where his whole act may be something you find endearing, or tiresome, or maybe a mix of both, and Hawke’s performance can fall within the same exact perspective.
Hawke very much chooses to be unforgiving to anyone not purchasing a ticket to his show where he goes all in on every bit of flamboyance there is to the character of Hart. His specific accent choice in which basically he’s dishing out gossip with every word he speaks, which he finds absolutely delicious at least, his physical manner very much brings a degree of pantomime style where every story must also be articulated within his movements to accentuate every bit he has. Hawke is performative as a performative man who wants to make everything he does and says as a bit of a performance for all to see. The starting performance being his ire towards Oklahoma! As an abhorrent overly schmaltzy non-satirical claptrap, where Hawke very much plays the disgust with more than tilt of over the top dismissiveness. Hawke plays the note of the critic where his judgment is that upon high where everything wrong with Oklahoma is accentuated as an aggressive bit of venom built upon superiority. A superiority of a man who knows, within his own mind, that he would’ve made a far better show, but not sure most if any would actually agree with him.
The next performance is the bar patron, where he purposefully makes himself the single spectacle of Sardi’s, where he is known by name by the tender Eddie (Bobby Cannavale), along with a piano for hire. Hawke with Eddie in particular playing up the man who wants, no need, to be the life of the party as he comes up with one anecdote after another, and one joke after another. Whether that be his declarative way of stating the worst line in Casablanca by complaining about the specific usage of precedent, but also conversely praising the film for its famous final line. Still declaration, yet more playful than when concerning musical theater. But really Hart is on a constant wave of prattling on in every direction as he’ll swing as quickly to making a joke about one’s manhood when half cocked, where Hawke’s delivery accentuates a purposeful provocation and color of someone who wants to be noticed but also entertain in his specific measure of doing so. While also ensuring everyone knows his business as he proclaims his intentions for his love interest, the young Elizabeth (Margaret Qualley), where he makes his intentions known to bed her with all with braggadocious manner however that really alluding to the insecurities of the man who has to defensively remind Eddie that he isn’t strictly homosexual.
Where we see a wavering, particularly as writer E.B. White (Patrick Kennedy) also happens to be in the bar, Hawke does denote the certain reverence towards White, there’s still irreverence at moments but he tones down his delivery as such and does effectively allude within Hart’s certain respect for another writer. Hawke becomes as performative but more wistful as though he is sharing these moments with someone who he believes thinks the way he does. Including getting to “glory” in his own review of himself and Rodgers with this distinct pride and articulating every bit of “genius” in the review in the most indulgence but this strange kind of sincerity in the more genuine joy we see in Hawke’s expressions because someone he admires is reading it. Contrasting that are the moments where he releases his past failures, such as bad reviews on the poor piano player, where Hawke is at his most indulgent in just really making every line an overlong symphony of pity me pathos…but Hart is also doing the same as a man who wants others to feel sorry for him, or at least begin to feel as sorry for him as he feels for himself.
Honestly Hawke’s most interesting scenes however are with Andrew Scott as Richard Rodgers, because that is where we do get the most dynamic sense of his personality beyond the performance, though we do open the performance as Hawke, purposefully, is at his phoniest as he praises Oklahoma to high heavens initially. Meanwhile we have Hart trying to sell Rodgers on his own satirical ideas, where you do get that sense of creative passion in every word, that you do see the man in his element, but in the moment too much as he’s composing his thoughts at Rodgers. Rodgers however though is less to jump in, particularly as in his ideas there’s more than a few attacks against the earnestness of Oklahoma, which Hawke does deliver well as basically the rambling passions of a man who can’t help himself. Where we get snap backs from Rodgers noting Hart’s unreliability, and alcoholism. Where Hawke’s reactions in these moments are some of his best because we see the drop of any “fun”, just instead playing a messy combination between bitter sorrow at Rodgers noting his very real flaws, and sloppy attempts at apology of the man trying to still keep his connection with his creative partner alive.
Contrasting that I find the least interesting scenes with the young Elizabeth, where Hawke needs to play a simpering horndog, which there is probably a better word but I’d rather use one Hart wouldn’t approve of, towards her and wanting to know her sexual escapades with a younger man, while really wanting to have sex with her himself. Getting into details in a one on one conversation that I’m pretty sure is a seven hour long scene, well at least it felt much longer than anything in The Secret Agent. Although this isn’t really Hawke, or Qualley, just the story itself is so aggressively boring and just seems like it takes forever to tell a real simple tale of Elizabeth likes hot young guy for his hotness but like Hart for his brain but can’t love him due to his lack of hotness. Hawke is entirely fine in the scene in the over eagerness at listening to the details, then his immediate switch to the sad sack at the truth of it all, but balanced with his deliveries that attempt some mentor's grace even as he’d rather not have it in the moment.
Through the night we have those different variations of similar songs, more so than any great revelatory portrait of a trouble artist, and in the end they are just different avenues for Hawke to show off this different side of his presence as an actor. Even his previously more extroverted performances, like in his career best work in The Good Lord Bird, were not extroverted in this sense. Hawke very much is playing to the backrows and very much is presenting this performance as a take or or leave quantity in realizing Hart as a take it or leave it man. The question really becomes then is how much do you really like spending time with all this performing? Well, I mostly enjoyed it, though this is an instance of hanging out with a raconteur whom I mostly enjoy. I don't always love it but am willing to get through maybe a bit I’m less find of because I might enjoy the next one more. Would I say in this respect that this is Hawke’s best performance, even if just cinematically, no, but within the approach of essentially an actor’s showcase, I think Hawke offers an entertaining enough entry, my favorite no, but one I did not mind giving my time to twice…for the most part.
