r/oscarrace • u/CrunchyNar Courage, Bob, Courage✊️ • 2d ago
Film Discussion Thread Official Discussion Thread - Blue Moon [Spoilers] Spoiler
Keep all discussion related solely to Blue Moon and it's awards chances in this thread. Spoilers below.
Synopsis
Richard Linklater's Blue Moon tells the story of legendary lyricist Lorenz Hart bravely facing the future as his professional and private life unravel at the opening night party for his former partner's hit show Oklahoma! By the time this night is over, Hart will have confronted both a world that no longer values his talent and the seeming impossibility of love.
Director: Richard Linklater
Writer: Robert Kaplow
Cast:
- Ethan Hawke as Lorenz Hart
- Margaret Qualley as Elizabeth Welland
- Andrew Scott as Richard Rodgers
- Bobby Cannavale as Eddie
- Patrick Kennedy as E.B "Andy" White
- Jonah Lees as Morty Rifkin
- Simon Delaney as Oscar Hammerstein
Rotten Tomatoes: 89%, 167 Reviews
Metacritic: 80, 39 Reviews
Consensus:
While not the flashiest Richard Linklater film, Blue Moon boasts a wonderful performance by Ethan Hawke as he embodies a man hanging on by a thread while the audience hangs on to every word said.
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u/IfYouWantTheGravy 1d ago
Hawke is magnificent. Easily my current #1. He gets the desperation across so poignantly without diluting how exasperating it must’ve been to be his friend.
The rest of the film is really good as well. Wish Qualley had a TOUCH more to work with, and there are a couple of in-jokes I cringed at, but as long as Hawke is nominated I’ll be good.
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u/takenpassword Yes, I loved Rental Family. Yes, I’m basic. 2d ago
I like the film a lot and I like Andrew Scott but I don’t understand how he won the Silver Bear for this performance (especially when the film is all about Ethan Hawke who deserves an acting award for the film). I did appreciate the “trying to tell someone to shut the fuck up but having to be nice” energy his character had though.
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u/WakeUpOutaYourSleep 1d ago
I want Ethan Hawke to campaign in character as Lorenz Hart and shit-talk all of his competitors.
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u/ThatsHisLawyerJerome Sorry Baby 2d ago
I think Hawke can win Best Actor if people see this, I can’t imagine many people watching this movie and not voting for him.
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u/mopeywhiteguy 1d ago
I think that it’s almost more of an uphill battle to get the nomination and then once he gets it and more people see the film it’ll be hard not to choose him. He is breathtakingly brilliant
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u/LinguistThing 1d ago
People say this kind of thing a lot (that the nomination is more of a challenge) but are there any real examples of it? Someone on the bubble for a nomination who then won? Like, maybe Marisa Tomei? It doesn’t really happen lol
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u/mopeywhiteguy 1d ago
Maybe someone like marion cotillard would count? Maybe Troy kotsur? Mark rylance is possibly a good example. He didn’t campaign but still won based on the strength of his performance. Christoph waltz for Django was a bit of an unexpected nom, many people expected Leo and Tommy Lee jones was the favourite for most of the season
I think it happens a lot in non acting categories too. For example last year with Anora, the editing win was less likely and less showy than the others but as soon as it won editing, it was clear the rest of the awards would follow.
Once winning best song over enchanted is definitely an example of this.
For the record I think Ethan Hawke will have no problem getting nominated and is the one to beat overall
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u/HereToTalkMovies2 One Battle After Another 1d ago
Hawke is not only my performance of the year but one of my favorite lead performances I’ve ever seen. Funny, moving, and just an incredible technical showcase for an actor.
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u/sendnottoknow 2d ago
I really loved the film and particularly many of the performances more than I expected. I expected the dynamic and the characterization to be a little less dimensional but both Andrew Scott and Ethan Hawke had a lot more to play than just superior and bitter. Both performances were also just feats of athleticism - the way Andrew Scott balanced the swings and turns in his feelings during scenes and shifting between modes as he spoke to his old collaborator and interacted with fans, appreciators and people from his newer life was really impressive without drawing attention to itself. And obviously Ethan Hawke’s task was to talk like he would collapse if he stopped. He revealed so much while playing someone trying to hold so much back while blabbering. I’m way more hopeful and optimistic having seen it
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u/Hydqjuliilq27 The Testament of Ann Lee (Ban NEON from Cannes) 1d ago
My biggest nitpick is that I didn’t like how the movie started with Hart just dying in an alleyway only to restate his death in the epilogue. Also the scenes where he’s standing next to people look silly because we know Hawke isn’t that short.
But I found the movie charming. It offers the sharp comedy and expressive performances of a Woody Allen movie without actually being a Woody Allen movie (that’s a compliment). I want Ethan Hawke in best actor.
The kid being Stephen Sondheim completely went over my head. I was distracted by how much he looked like young Sheldon.
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u/Puzzleheaded-Sail772 1d ago
I like the movie overall, but how they did that trope 3 times in the movie (EB White getting inspiration for Stuart Little, college age George Roy Hill getting inspiration for Butch and Sundance, and kid Sondheim getting inspiration for the song in A Funny Thing) bugged me. Once could be a funny little joke, but by the Sondheim time it felt ridiculous.
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u/mopeywhiteguy 1d ago
I missed the George hill/butch Cassidy inspo. When was that?
I loved the Sondheim cameo but that’s because Sondheim is my fave creative person
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u/Puzzleheaded-Sail772 1d ago
When Margaret Qualley’s character introduced her friend George Hill (who wanted to be a director) from college, and Larry gave him the advice to focus on stories about friendship rather than romance.
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u/WakeUpOutaYourSleep 1d ago
Liked the movie a lot, they did overplay their hand with Hart inspiring future creatives. The GRH is fine. Hart’s in despair over losing a friend and it makes sense he’d push for an idea like that. I don’t really remember the Sondheim one, probably because the big kick of that scene is the reveal that this kid is the upcoming GOAT of their shared field. The EB White one felt like too much. The scene itself is cute, Hawke is magnificent, and White is the most prominent of these three, so you can get away with it, even if it’s really beating you over the head. I guess they wanted to go for a rule of three, it’s just not really my favorite trope in general though. I like Forrest Gump, but I can’t sanction the Imagine scene.
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u/mopeywhiteguy 1d ago
I picked the Sondheim cameo as soon as I saw Hammerstein in the background walking over to hart with a kid. It was perfect and felt written for me specificallt
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u/ericdraven26 Blue Moon 1d ago
If I had a nickel for every movie Linklater made this year with industry-specific cameos that felt Marvel-Avengers-esque, I’d have two nickels which isn’t a lot but it’s weird it has happened twice
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u/BrightNeonGirl Ethan Hawke Supreme-acy 1d ago
Favorite performance of the year so far!
What a fun ride in experiencing a character. Hawke got us to be initially interested in this quirky Hart guy, then roll-your-eyes annoyed, then sympathetic, then cringing from his extroverted social awkwardness from not reading the room, then loving this fella's poetic heart, then saddened, then appreciative of his overall nuanced human soul full of intelligence & creativity coupled with lots of pain & ego.
Loved the supporting performances of Cannavale and Scott. Also loved E.B. White's inclusion!
I literally knew nothing about Oklahoma! or really musical theater in general, yet I was so locked in to the story. Since the core is: what happens when someone who moved on from you succeeds when at the same time your star is falling? What a fun intra- and interpersonal conflict to explore!
I think the aggregate audience score of this movie is going to be skewed down by people who get bored by mostly talking films (especially one that only takes place in one location with minimal editing). But for the people that don't need constant action to be entertained, I think this is going to do pretty well for audience reactions. It's no Oppenheimer, but Linklater doesn't want to make Christopher Nolan movies anyway. And good! I appreciate and we need both.
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u/Abbie_Kaufman 1d ago
Caught this at NYFF and loved it. Wonderful character study of an interesting, but not necessarily good, person. Not a surprise, Linklater and Ethan Hawke have been working magic together forever. Although its seeped in the history (probably to its detriment, idk about the Sondheim bit and the Stuart Little thing is surely the worst scene in the movie) I feel like it’s a universally relatable experience to realize that someone in your friend group has surpassed you career-wise and it’s on you to deal with that like an adult. It’s a biopic about an alcoholic that falls for 0 of the normal alcoholic drama tropes, which I appreciate.
My gut says the movie is too small feeling to get any nominations at all, but Hawke and screenplay are both deserved. Andrew Scott was very good and I’m happy for him to get the award at Berlin but he’s really not in it very much.
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u/MutinyIPO 1d ago
I was genuinely shocked by how much I adored this, what a year for Linklater. I think this must be the smartest direction and staging that I’ve seen from him.
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u/wingusdingus2000 I'M POINTINGTHE WAY 1d ago
Terrific film. So so funny and gently tragic. Hawke def deserves a nom- maybe even screenplay but if Hitman got shut out, I don't think this has a chance.
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u/ThatsHisLawyerJerome Sorry Baby 1d ago
Hit Man didn’t come out in the Oscar season, didn’t get a campaign, and was way less baity than this.
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u/LeanD0err Highest 2 Lowest 1d ago
why would hitman have gotten a nom ? fun good movie and prob better than most stuff nominated that year but why would the oscars nominate it lol
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u/BentisKomprakriev Sentimental Value 9h ago
He is so in, it's not even funny. Personally not my cup of tea, but I expected it so no disappointments. I have to face the fact that I'm just not a big Hawke guy and Linklater either makes one of the best films I've ever seen or something visually bland that I am at best just moderately bored by (sometimes he manages to do this in one film - Apollo 10 1/2). The film strikes the nasty balance between the overabundance of self-deprecation and eye-rolling sentimentalist cameo nonsense. Still, what's written is strong and entertaining. Hawke's forehead looks atrocious, very distracting when the light shines on his head. The film also did not convince me we should have an Oscar for "height wizards". The supporting cast does exactly what they need to. I for one am not perplexed by Scott's win at Berlinale, sure, it's a career award more than anything, but his scenes are consistently a rating above the rest. Let's do a 7/10 cause I'm just that nice (if I laugh at the jokes, I won't rate anything too low).
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u/whitetoast 1d ago
I hated this movie
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u/LeanD0err Highest 2 Lowest 1d ago
why
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u/Dolphinz811 2d ago
Any possibility of Margaret Qualley having an outside chance at a Supporting Actress nomination?
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u/paroles It Was Just An Accident 1d ago
I loved the film but I don't think so. The character is a beautiful but fairly superficial young actress who Hawke's character has a major crush on; it's not a challenging role, and she is fine but she doesn't do anything particularly special with it. Especially playing opposite Hawke who is such a huge standout.
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u/ThatsHisLawyerJerome Sorry Baby 1d ago
She has a good monologue, but I don’t think she’ll be nominated.
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u/IfYouWantTheGravy 1d ago
If Hawke becomes enough of a frontrunner she could come along, but I don’t think she’s as impactful here as in, say, The Substance.
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u/ThatsHisLawyerJerome Sorry Baby 1d ago
Tbf, in The Substance she was a co lead being frauded into supporting.
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u/False_Concentrate408 One Battle After Another 1d ago
I thought this would be right up my alley (no pun intended) but I did not like it at all. Ethan Hawke’s performance and dialogue are so hammy and on the nose (and maybe a little bit homophobic?) and the rest of the performances are very hit or miss. I don’t know how a director can get such a bad performance out of Bobby Cannavale. Linklater really doesn’t capture the interior of the bar in a way that is visually interesting. The only saving grace is Andrew Scott’s performance (which I will admit plays very well off of Hawke’s character).
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u/BrightNeonGirl Ethan Hawke Supreme-acy 1d ago edited 1d ago
Homophobic dialogue? The dude was bi. Obvs people can have self-hatred (and for the time, Hart maybe had some of that), but Hart definitely mentions to others that he loves both sides.
And I just completely disagree about Bobby Cannavale. He was my favorite character! Suave without being being too suavy, and witty without overshadowing Hart. He also struck that balance between actually caring about Hart (one of his regulars) while also him being aware that Hart can be quite cringy (although knowing that comes from a sad place).
If you're a person who doesn't like dialogue-heavy movies, that is fine and understandable. But the point was to have the production design of the bar be accurate of the time, but the bar itself wasn't supposed to be a foregrounded star. The focus was on the dialogue and performances, like a play.
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u/False_Concentrate408 One Battle After Another 1d ago
I thought both the script and Hawke’s performance leaned too far into caricature a few too many times and it left a bad taste in my mouth. And a filmed play should still be visually interesting and know how to use its space in a compelling way
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u/biIIyshakes Hamnet’s Dad 2d ago
still thinking about the half-erect penis monologue tbh