I knew next to nothing about lyricist Lorenz Hart before seeing this movie, which I did not know ahead of time is the story of Lorenz Hart’s final year or so of life.  I knew that he was composer Richard Rodgers’ long-time partner, but didn’t know why he was essentially replaced by Oscar Hammerstein II in the 1940s.  That question is pretty well answered by this movie, which, while perhaps intended to be affectionately revealing, came across as pretty much of a hit job to me.  That is probably unfair, but that is how it felt.

Richard Linklater’s biographical sketch takes place one night (March 31, 1943) at Sardi’s, the famous New York City restaurant / bar where Rodgers is going to be following the opening of his new musical, “Oklahoma!”  Lorenz Hart (Ethan Hawke) is already there, pontificating on the dubious merits of the play to anyone who will listen, hoping to reunite with his former partner on something more aspirational, and hoping to finalize a romantic encounter with Elizabeth Weiland (Margaret Qualley).  A friendly bartender, Eddie (Bobby Cannavale), tries to keep Lorenz calm, sober and realistic about his prospects for both.  A few other famous faces arrive for the party as well and Lorenz has words of advice for all of them.

What seems like a slam-dunk premise for a one-night turning-point-of-a-life drama is undercut by a couple of issues.  One is tertiary; the famous faces in question are given advice which, since we have seen the results, points to great success, but which defies the actual reality of their futures.  There is no proof at all that Lorenz Hart inspired the creation of “Stuart Little,” inspired future director George Roy Hill to direct buddy movies and frustrated young Stephen Sondheim with goofy wordplay that he later used in one of his plays.  In this sense the film is much like Forrest Gump, a movie I loathed for its trivial reimaginings of history.  It just rubs me the wrong way.

The bigger issue for me is Lorenz himself, who comes across as odious and malcontent.  Perhaps that really was his personality; I cannot say.  If so, it certainly explains why Rodgers went looking for a more stable writing partner — some of this history is discussed by he and Rodgers (Andrew Scott) during the drama.  While Ethan Hawke delivers a singular performance as Hart, it was one that made me cringe, especially when he started going on about his planned “Marco Polo” musical, a doomed project if ever there was one.  The only time this character seemed human at all was when Elizabeth Weiland told her own story, and Hart, for the most part, quietly listened.  That was effective, and we could see the way her story changed something deep within him.  But for the most part I felt that this drama was less redemptive than cruel, less revealing than condemning.  This is a case, for me, where tearing away the curtains that show the real people behind the magic of show business was a bad idea.  I’m also not at all sure it is an accurate portrayal, given the tertiary issue.  ☆ ☆.  9 March 2026.