Blue Moon

 

Blue Moon (Amazon Prime)

Blue Moon is basically a one-man play with a wonderful supporting cast. Ethan Hawke is Lorenz (Larry) Hart, the American lyricist and half of the famous Broadway songwriting team Rogers and Hart. This is a short film, about 1.5 hours, focusing on the opening night of Oklahoma and the adulation for the play, contrasting with Hart’s disparagement of it and his regret for declining to write it.

Hawke delivers a bravo performance. Hawke’s portrayal captures Hart’s disappointments and the facades he presents. Aside from costuming and makeup, dialogue is the film's main feature. Hawke captures the character's tone at the nadir of his career. His famous songs are behind him, and new ones depend on collaborations he can sustain with his former partner. Hawke captures Hart’s mercurial nature. Hart is a great songwriter, but he needs new opportunities. Compounding his artistic struggles with his alcoholism.

His biggest façade is that he is gay. To maintain this act, he pursues a relationship with a young art student half his age, played by Margaret Qualley.  He gives her flowers and promises to introduce her to his famous associates to advance her career. Despite his adulation, the relationship is not consummated. She knows he is gay. Back in the 1940’s, being outed as gay was a career killer, so their relationship was more symbiotic than romantic.

The emotion that defines Hart is a profound sadness, which Hawke captures. Hart is in search for his next big break and his inability to be his true self.

Bobby Canavale is his talkative bartender friend who, without success, tries to limit Hart's drinking. Margaret Qualley is the tall glass of water that Hart uses as a shield to hide his forbidden desires. Andrew Scott is Richard Rogers, who seems to distance himself from Hart, implying that Hart was difficult to work with.

Ethan Hawke is almost unrecognizable because of the makeup. They use cinematic magic. Hawke is 5’10”, while the real Hart was 5’. In the film, Hawke appears smaller, matching Hart’s size.

The movie is an engaging biopic, and Ethan Hawke earns a well-deserved best actor nomination.

Hamnet

 

Hamnet (Amazon Prime)

Hamnet deserves the awards it has received. It won the Golden Globe for best picture. Chloe Zhao is nominated for an Oscar for best director, and Jessie Buckley is nominated for best actress and is in strong contention to win. 

The film is about love, grief, and surviving both. William and Agnes were passionate, and she became pregnant before marriage. When they married, he was eighteen, and she was twenty-six. Their family grew with a daughter and twins, Hamnet and Judith. Shakespeare’s successful career as an actor and a playwright took him away from his home to London. During this absence, his beloved son Hamlet dies of the plague. Hamlet's death burdens their marriage, and her son's grief consumes Agnes.

Jessie Buckley as Agnes delivers an outstanding performance. Her acting is powerful; her grief feels real. The death of Hamlet strains their marriage, and she scolds William for being away when Hamlet dies. He also feels devastated for not being home when Hamlet passed away. Her performance will greatly boost the film's chances of winning Best Picture.

Besides Buckley, the cast is excellent. Paul Mescal plays William Shakespeare. Besides sorrow, he conveys guilt. His performance is nuanced. As a tribute to his son, he writes Hamlet. The film's highlight occurs when Agnes watches the play and realizes how William feels about Hamnet’s death. Mescal is not nominated for an Oscar and did not win the Golden Globe. This snub contradicts his great performance.

The children were also great. Of note was Jacobi Jupe as Hamnet. The young actor's interpretation of the role was nuanced.

For the Oscars, Hamlet has solid competition, but I give it strong odds.