Two From Richard Linklater: Blue Moon and Nouvelle Vague

Posted on June 5, 2026 by Lisa Marie Bowman

As a Texan who loves movie, I have to say that 2025 will always be a special year for me. 2025 was the year that Richard Linklater, the godfather of modern Texas filmmaking, was responsible for directing two of the best films of the year.

Blue Moon opens with famed American lyricist Lorenz Hart (Ethan Hawke) collapsing in an alley and cursing under his breath as he dies. The film then flashes back a few weeks to Hart arriving at Sardi’s and waiting for the crowd to arrive from the Broadway premiere of Oklahoma! Hart is dismissive of Oklahoma!, largely because it’s the product of a collaboration between his former partner, Richard Rodgers (Andrew Scott) and Oscar Hammerstein II (Simon Delaney). Hart dismisses it as being simplistic, a crowd pleaser with no depth. But as Hart speaks, it’s easy to see that his disdain has more to do with his own hurt feelings than the actual show.

(That said, he’s still right about Oklahoma!)

Hart talks. He talks a lot. Perhaps the simplest way to describe Blue Moon would be to say that it’s a film about one man who won’t stop talking to the people around him. Bobby Cannavale plays the friendly bartender who has obviously heard all of Hart’s stories before. Patrick Kennedy (not the former Congressman) plays author E.B. White, who politely listens as Hart pours his heart out and takes note when Hart talks about a mouse named Stuart. Margaret Qualley plays Elizabeth Weiland, a twenty year-old acting student who Hart feels might be the love of his life despite the fact it soon becomes obvious that Elizabeth is smitten with a student her own age and that she views Hart as being just a potential mentor. Hart is the type who will talk nonstop, even if no one is actually listening. The only time that Hart stop speaking is when he’s alone with Elizabeth.

Blue Moon largely plays out in real time. It’s essentially a theatrical piece, with Ethan Hawke delivering what amounts to a monologue in which he portrays Lorenz Hart as being witty, self-destructive, and ultimately painfully lonely. Everyone he talks to appreciates his talent but it’s obvious that they’ve had their fill of his addictions and his fragile ego. Even when Hart is at his most vulnerable, it’s obvious that he’s burned too many bridges to ever make it back to where he once was.

Hawke gives a wonderful performance as Hart, playing him as being a natural performer. Like all great actors, Hawke is willing to be annoying. Hart can be witty but he can also be corrosive. There’s a mean-streak behind some of his comments But your heart still breaks for him when he begs Rodgers to collaborate on a new show or when he talks about the people from his past who loved him but “not in that way.” The film definitely has a stagey feel to it but, as a director, Linklater has the confidence to allow his actors to truly dig into their characters. The end result is a rather touching movie about a talented man who could not get out of his own way.

In 2025, Linklater also gave us Nouvelle Vague, a French-language film about the early days of the French New Wave. Featuring gorgeous black-and-white cinematography, Nouvelle Vague follows Jean-Luc Godard (Guillaume Marbeck) as he directs Breathless and changes cinema forever. Aubry Dullin plays Jean-Paul Belmondo while Zoey Deutch plays Jean Seberg. Nouvelle Vague is a both a tribute to and an homage to the French New Wave. It’s also a film about the joy of creation and the excitement of working on a film. Nouvelle Vague may be about the shooting of Breathless but it’s also Linklater’s Day For Night.

It’s a fun movie to watch, especially if you know about the history of the French New Wave. (This film helpfully includes title cards to let us know who is who. Everyone from Roberto Rossellini to Francois Truffaut to Agnes Varda to Claude Chabrol and Jean Cocteau makes an appearance.) If Blue Moon was about the tendency towards self-destruction that haunts so many artists, Nouvelle Vague is a celebration of creativity, cinematic revolution, and being young and idealistic enough to break all of the established rules without a second thought. Linklater keeps the story moving and he directs with a clear eye for detail. Zoey Deutch is perfect as Seberg, playing her as a Hollywood survivor who is alternately thrilled and annoyed with Godard’s unorthodox style of directing.

I have to admit that I did get a little bit sad as I watched the movie. In real life, Seberg committed suicide in 1979 and Godard followed over forty years later. While Godard and Seberg both made good films after Breathless, none of them were quite as transformative as their one collaboration. No other director seemed to understand Seberg’s unique persona quite as well as Godard did. Godard, meanwhile, fell into the trap of placing ideology before creativity. At least Jean-Paul Belmondo seemed to go on to have a happy life.

Blue Moon received Oscar nominations for Ethan Hawke and its screenplay. Nouvelle Vague was ignored by the Academy but Richard Linklater did become the first Texan to win the Cesar Award for Best Director and for that, I certainly applaud him. Getting the French to honor someone from Texas? That takes talent!

Blue Moon and Nouvelle Vague, two of the best films of 2025, can currently be found on Netflix.

Embracing the Melodrama Part II #110: Atonement (dir by Joe Wright)

Posted on June 10, 2015 by Lisa Marie Bowman

Whenever I think back on the 2007 best picture nominee Atonement, my first thought is usually, “Oh my God! Benedict Cumberbatch is in this movie!”

And, indeed, he is. However, I’m kind of glad that I didn’t know who Benedict was when I first saw this film because, if I had, I doubt I would have ever been able to look at him in quite the same way again. (Fortunately, I had somehow forgotten that I had previously seen him in Atonement when I first saw Benedict in Sherlock.) Benedict’s role in Atonement is not a large one but it is pivotal to the film’s plot. He plays Paul Marshall, a man who has made a fortune as a chocolate manufacturer in pre-World War II England. Paul is handsome, charming, and rich. After all, he’s played by Benedict Cumberbatch. He’s also a rapist who, later in the film, marries one of his victims specifically to make it impossible for her to ever testify against him in court.

Atonement is one of those films where the British upper class meets the lower class and forbidden love and tragedy follow. Cecilia Tallis (Keira Knightley) is the oldest of the Tallis sisters. Her family is rich but she’s in love with Robbie Turner (James McAvoy), the son of the housekeeper. One night, Robbie attempts to write a love note to Cecilia and, growing frustrated with his inability to come up with right words, he writes an over-the-top, sexually explicit letter as a joke. (And the audience gaps, “Oh my God! They used that word in the 30s!?”) He then goes on to write a more standard love note. However, when he asks Cicilia’s younger sister, 13 year-old Briony (Saorise Ronan) to deliver the note to Cecilia, he accidentally gives her the wrong note. Briony reads it to her cousin Lola (Juno Temple) and, already jealous of Robbie and Cecilia’s flirtation, she decides that Robbie must be a “sex maniac.”

Briony, who writes plays in her spare time, later spies on Robbie and Cecilia as they have sex for the first time. Briony, who has a crush on Robbie, grows more and more jealous. Later that night, while looking for Lola’s twin brothers, Briony sees a man running through the woods. When she goes to investigate, Briony discovers that the man has raped Lola. When asked by the police, Briony lies and says that Robbie was the man running in the woods. She also shows everyone the “joke” letter that Robbie wrote, proving, in their eyes, that Robbie is guilty. Robbie is sent to prison. Of the Tallises, only Cecilia believes that Robbie is innocent. Angered over their quickness to accuse Robbie, Cecilia cuts off all contact with her family.

As the years pass, Briony comes to realize that Paul was the rapist and she struggles to deal with her guilt. When World War II breaks out, Robbie is released from prison on the condition that he join the army. Meanwhile, Briony volunteers as a nurse and tries to come up with a way to bring Cecilia and Robbie back together.

I didn’t really appreciate the film the first time that I saw it but, with subsequent viewings, I came to appreciate Atonement as an intelligent and well-acted look at guilt, forgiveness, and redemption. James McAvoy and Keira Knightley both have amazing chemistry and Saoirse Ronan is amazing in her film debut. You can see why Atonement‘s director, Joe Wright, subsequently cast her in Hanna. Compared to the other films nominated for best picture of 2007 — No Country For Old Men, Juno, There Will Be Blood, and Michael Clayton — Atonement is definitely a low-key film. But it definitely more than deserved its nomination.

Trailer: The November Man

Posted on August 16, 2014 by Arleigh

Outside of Sean Connery, my other favorite James Bond has always been Pierce Brosnan. He was able to inject some of the fun that became camp when Roger Moore was Bond, but still retain the ice-cold lethality that Connery brought to the role. It was just bad luck that he ended up with Bond writers and directors that were hit or miss. I think Pierce woud’ve done just as good a job, if not better, in the films that Daniel Craig ended up doing as Bond.

We now have Brosnan back as a spy, but not as Bond, but as Peter Devereaux from the spy novel series written by Bill Granger. The November Man looks to be Brosnan’s attempt to try and add another spy thriller franchise in the mix with both Bond and Bourne. Whether Brosnan succeeds depends on how critics and audiences react to this film.

The trailer makes the film look interesting enough. Using the time-tested plot of master vs. protege, The November Man may have some success when it comes out at the tail end of the summer season with little to no competition.

One thing that’s good to see is Brosnan back on the screen. If Liam Neeson can transition into the elder action hero then I can’t see why Pierce Brosnan can’t do it as well. Neeson can’t be the only Irish kickass on the screen. Lisa Marie would agree that there’s never enough kickass Irish stars on the big-screen.

The November Man shoots its way onto the big-screen this August 27, 2014.