Few prominent directors have achieved a level of prolificacy that enables them to consider a dual release of their latest features. Fewer still can lay claim to a dual release that perfectly demonstrates their versatility in tandem with their penchant for consistently satisfying filmmaking. This year, it is the turn of Richard Linklater, who has two new films coming out within mere days of one another. If you want flashy Linklater, then Netflix's Nouvelle Vague – Linklater's gorgeous, chrome-plated homage-to-come-making-of Jean-Luc Godard's 1960 classic Breathless – should be your first stop. If, however, you're in the mood for lowkey Linklater – heavy on the dialogue with a lead character drowning in somewhat intriguing tragedy – then pour yourself a stiff drink and move straight down the line to Blue Moon.

This captivating exploration of the legendary musical theatre lyricist Lorenz Hart may pair these releases under the label of biographical pictures trained on eccentric early to mid-20th century artists, but Blue Moon could not be further in style nor execution from its French-language counterpart. Whereas Nouvelle Vague is essentially pure vibes, Blue Moon is a gripping one-night character study that pulls us straight into the New York bar hosting the opening night afterparty for Rodgers and Hammerstein's smash hit Oklahoma! – Richard Rodgers being Hart's former writing partner who watched him collapse into alcoholism.

It might seem obvious for Linklater to stage author Robert Kaplow's script as a Broadway play on the silver screen, but the production more than complements the material as it allows the performers to take it over. Enter stage left: Ethan Hawke, Linklater's long-time collaborator and star of the show. Thinly veiling Hart's raw desperation with a shot or three of natural charm, Hawke fashions enduring appeal for the lost songwriter, in spite of his failing grip on the very compulsions that continue to derail his life in real time. It's a beautiful physical performance that channels period melodrama without fully succumbing to it, and could well be Hawke's best since 2017's First Reformed.

While the emotional swings of Blue Moon hinge on Hawke, its willpower stems from the quite brilliant Andrew Scott, who comes flying out of the wings as Richard Rodgers for the films best sequence, where the doomed partners reconcile only as a means to fall apart in the face of their respective ambitions: one hopeless, the other undeniable. A relatively lowkey Margaret Qualley does her best with the least interesting of Hart's encounters, while Bobby Cannavale demonstrates a humorous ability to effectively play himself without overstaying his welcome. Finally, there's Patrick Kennedy, who brings muted joy as writer E.B. White, in a turn so dry you could pop it in a glass, stick an olive in it and happily blackout to it time and again.

2025 will not be a particularly groundbreaking year for Linklater, but it'll be a memorable one. After 35 years behind the camera, Nouvelle Vague and Blue Moon catch him mining a different kind of nostalgia – they are both “one for him”, and that's just fine. Pair this one with Last Flag Flying and let yourself well up a bit.

Blue Moon screened at Vancouver International Film Festival 2025 and BFI London Film Festival 2025 . It will be released in UK cinemas on November 14