STACK #259 May 2026

MOVIE FEATURE

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GENRE: Musical drama RUN TIME: 1h 40m

ETHAN HAWKE GETS HART IN BLUE MOON Ethan Hawke trades movie star charm for tragic genius in Blue Moon , vanishing into Lorenz Hart in a career-defining turn that’s earned him a fifth Oscar nomination.

Ethan Hawke and Margaret Qualley

I f we first fell in love with him 37 years ago as the tall handsome blue-eyed young star of Dead Poets Society , then Ethan Hawke, 55, is today unrecognisable as a short, balding, brown-eyed Broadway lyricist in Blue Moon . It’s a performance that earned him a fifth Oscar nomination – and not just because of the physical transformation, but much more for how he inhabits the very soul of this melancholic, fast-talking, alcoholic writer facing the final curtain of his career. Responsible for unforgettable songs such as Manhattan, My Funny Valentine and, of course,

Blue Moon , Lorenz Hart’s alcoholism led to the break-up of his partnership with Richard Rodgers, the film taking part over one evening where Hart is invited to the opening night party of Rodgers’ hit musical Oklahoma! – with his new lyricist Oscar Hammerstein. “So much is made of the winners in life but, with this, it’s like being at a wedding from the ex-wife’s point of view,” observes Hawke. Marking his ninth collaboration with director/writer Richard Linklater, Blue Moon has been almost a decade in the making, the

DYK? In addition to Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II, other historical figures portrayed in the film include E.B. White (author of Stuart Little ), Stephen Sondheim (renowned songwriter), and George Roy Hill (director of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid ).

filmmaker waiting for his leading man to age into the character. Hawke knew he would have to shave his head for the role – Hart boasting just a few brown strands combed over his balding pate - but it wasn’t something he took lightly “At my age you’re like, ‘Wait a second, is this just a giant mistake?’” he smiles, admitting his fears about it growing back. But there’s very little he wouldn’t do for Linklater – the pair having

made memorable films Boyhood and the Before trilogy together. Though Hart’s

acerbic tongue could be off-putting to some, Hawke says, “I fell in love. I mean, there's no other way to put it. I saw myself in him.” Gill Pringle

• Blue Moon is out May 27

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GENRE: Psychological drama RUN TIME: 2h 5m

ANEMONE : THE DAY-LEWIS LEGACY H e may have won three Oscars but, at home, Daniel Day-Lewis, 68, is just Daniel Day-Lewis ends his decade-long hiatus with Anemone , a deeply personal father-son collaboration.

both of us were surprised to find that we had a story that we could then do,” “It was such a strange thing to see him, both as a dad, but then also as Ray at the same time.” says Ronan on working alongside his old man.

dad. And, like any parent facing an empty nest, he was eager to spend as much time as possible with his filmmaker/painter son Ronan Day-Lewis, 28, before the Yale graduate flew the coop for good. All those emotions would prompt father and son to co-write the drama Anemone , marking Ronan’s directorial feature debut while also marking Daniel’s own return to the big screen – almost ten years after his last major role in Phantom Thread . “We've worked on a lot of strange things over the years together, since he was a kid, and I had an anticipatory regret at the thought that Ronan was going to make films and I wouldn't be a part of them,” reveals the reclusive actor. “So, it was really just the impulse to try and find something together to do. And yes, absolutely, from the word go, I knew that I

“I've seen him work in the past, growing up, just more

Daniel Day-Lewis and Sean Bean

from a distance. And it was more of that kind of separation, when he was home.” Grateful for the opportunity to work with his dad, he adds: “We both felt strongly that the film

would act in it in some way,” he admits. Referencing his periodic

Daniel Day-Lewis with director Ronan Day-Lewis

career withdrawals, he knew the day was coming when he would have to put all that aside if his son’s project was to flourish. “It began with just that pure impulse of wishing to work with Ronan, and the writing took place over quite a long period of time. And, as we sort of edged closer and closer towards some kind of a conclusion, I think

was something that we wanted to do together. I knew that if I passed up the opportunity to work with him, it would’ve haunted me.” Glenn Cochrane

• Anemone is out May 13

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20 MAY 2026

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