I started this post about 14 minutes after finishing the movie BLUE MOON, while still in the "sit with it" phase before inevitably going too deep into the IMDB trivia and the life story of Lorenz Hart, the film's subject. (Maybe I should try to write down my thoughts about movies before diving into the public discourse more often.)
In short, I loved it. A witty period piece about the tragic life of a writer? Count me in. Almost all of the film takes place at or near the bar at a restaurant in New York City, after the premiere of Rodgers and Hammerstein's "Oklahoma!" in 1943. Ethan Hawke as Lorenz Hart (Rodgers' former creative partner) pulled me in immediately with his obsessively quoting "Casablanca" and spicy takes on "Oklahoma!". (Also, Alex and I were fascinated by his awful combover and tiny height. Was he really that small??)
The supporting characters—the bartender Eddie, piano player Morty, and E.B. White(!)—were brilliant straight men for Hart. I think I'd like to read the entire screenplay for fun, and it turns out I can!
There's a Venn diagram I keep in my head, capturing the intersection of people who love with gusto and people who can't help but reflect that love in their work. It's kind of a loose definition, but I know it when I see it. David Lynch, for sure. And John Darnielle. And a handful of people in my own life, and probably in yours, too. I don't know what the real Lorenz Hart was like (this film seems to be a pretty fictionalized version of him), but this character is absolutely in the middle of that Venn diagram. His gusto is over-the-top uncomfortable throughout the film, but my god if he's not just drunkenly vocalizing what all of us have felt at some point in our lives when we are completely enchanted by someone, or something.
There are several times in the film's first 'act' when Hart tries again and again to tell the people around him about this young woman he's infatuated with, he starts with some form of, "I wish I could find the right words to tell you..." Even as a writer by profession, when he has something he so desparately wants to get out to the world, he has trouble finding the words to properly capture it. The addition of E.B. (Andy) White in the film was perfect then, a writer providing the words when the other can't:
Somewhat incidentally, I recently revisited a TIDAL playlist I made of songs from high school, consisting mostly of the pop punk music my band friends introduced me to in an attempt to bring my music tastes up to date. (I return to this playlist more often than I'd like to admit; it's especially good while driving long stretches of the 5 and needing to stay alert.)
TIDAL was doing the thing where it recommended similar bands to me, and one of them was The Format. I had completely forgotten about them, but there was exactly one song by The Format that I used to play on repeat, called "Inches and Falling (I Love, Love)". The song is almost certainly about a teenage breakup and not all that deep, but the chorus has been stuck in my head like a catchy Millennial version of Hart's obsessive tendencies: I love love, I love being in love, I don't care what it does to me. It's almost like who or what he loves is secondary; the loving itself is what keeps him going.
May we all be drunk with beauty, wherever we find it.
Two more short reviews from recent movie nights:
PROJECT HAIL MARY. Wasn't that sure going in, but left in awe. Pure entertainment at an epic scale.
THE DRAMA. The most uncomfortable I've ever felt in a movie theater!!! Go see it.
On the topic of anxiety films, I cannot wait for THE INVITE.