Richard Linklater's biographical film Blue Moon - Photo: IMDb
Lorenz Hart wasn't like that. Or, he never used to be.
The position of the losers
In a narrow alleyway on a stormy night, Lorenz Hart, a Broadway lyricist, walked along without an umbrella or raincoat. He sang a humorous song about life's misfortunes as he went, then suddenly collapsed. He died before the age of 50, in a pathetic, filthy state. But there had been a time when he was incredibly famous.
He was once on the cover of Time magazine. His portraits hung in restaurants in Manhattan's affluent neighborhoods. He had many friends and connections with top figures in the industry. Richard Linklater's biographical film, Blue Moon, tells the story of a day in Hart's life, when, in the twilight of his career, he still boasted a little about himself, reminisced about his glory days, and still yearned to create great works.
Only one thing stood in his way: his time was over.
The wave of musical biopics is far from over. But no matter how long that wave lasts, few would consider making a biography of a lyricist. And who exactly is Hart?
Linklater could have made a more understandable choice by making a film about Richard Rodgers, Lorenz Hart's former collaborator. Rodgers is one of the most celebrated composers in American history.
Or if choosing a lyricist, why not choose Oscar Hammerstein II, who wrote nearly a thousand songs, received dozens of awards, and remained famous until the very end of his life?
No, Linklater chose Lorenz Hart, an artist who had experienced the decline of his time, a man left behind by his era, a beggar clinging to the past. Perhaps it's time for Hollywood, having experienced more failures, to put itself in the shoes of the losers, rather than the winners?
BLUE MOON Trailer
Remnants of the aura
Almost the entire film by Linklater takes place within the confines of a single restaurant. Hart sneaks out of the premiere of Rdogers and Hammerstein's hugely successful musical, *Oklahoma!* .
He moved from one place to another in that enclosed space, chatting with the bartender, boasting to the pianist, confiding in a writer, socializing with people in the literary world, chatting with his dream lover, and bragging to passersby.
At times, to prove to passing guests that he was a "super cool" figure, he would have the pianist play one of his hit songs after another. He was embarrassed when they didn't recognize any of them, only Blue Moon. But they couldn't give him the affection he longed for either. All around him were the remnants of his former glory.
One can contribute to writing classic songs like My Funny Valentine, Manhattan, The Lady Is A Tramp, Blue Moon , yet still fail to keep up with the times, still be forgotten, and still die a miserable, humiliating death on the street while drunk. One can achieve many accomplishments, yet ultimately be humiliated and disgraced by life.
There's something both endearing and pathetic about a middle-aged artist rambling on about his past achievements, dreaming of glorious futures, boasting about his golden past, humorously tragic in his anecdotes, and believing in his unrealistic love.
Ethan Hawke's superb performance as Lorenz Hart brings the artist back into our contemporary musical life, only for us to discover that he was nowhere near as far; we've been listening to his music all along, we just didn't know anything about him.
We still listen to music without giving the composer a piece of their story: their fate, their thoughts, their tragedy. That is the beauty of music – transcending the boundaries of individual life to become a shared heritage of humanity; but that is also the cruelty of music – sometimes the composer is treated merely as a vessel for their work.
At the beginning of the film, Lorenz Hart asks everyone what the best line from Casablanca is. He answers, "No one has ever loved me so much," the line Rick says. He then adds, "But who has ever been loved enough? Who has ever been loved even half as much?" There's a paradox: we admire artists so much, yet we never seem to love them enough.
Source: https://tuoitre.vn/an-may-di-vang-20260111093444035.htm
Comment (0)