Director Richard Linklater chooses just two hours from the life of the late American songwriter Lorenz Hart, and within this brief period, he manages to distill so much of Hart’s life. Linklater offers a masterful lesson on bringing a true-life character to the screen, without overloading it with unnecessary details, and without ever needing to leave a single location.Biographical films about real-life icons are almost always enjoyable to watch, and every award season has at least one or two of them. Audiences love to see how filmmakers reimagine real-life personalities, how actors bring them to life, and how closely the films reflect the people as they appeared in television interviews. In this film, Linklater chooses a specific moment as the starting point, the opening night of the musical “Oklahoma!” in March of 1943, set in the bar where the show’s creators gather to celebrate the premiere.Lorenz Hart sits in a bar, waiting for his former partner and longtime collaborator, composer Richard Rodgers, who has since parted ways with him to compose “Oklahoma!”. Over the course of the film, we see how Lorenz Hart, portrayed brilliantly by Ethan Hawke, is a mix of sharp wit, biting humor, and evident vanity. We see this through the finely crafted dialogue by Robert Kaplow, which gradually reveals the depths of Hart’s character to us, whether through his sharp-tongued remarks about others, his mockery of “Oklahoma!” itself, or through the reactions of those around him, revealing how deeply they admire him despite his merciless wit. The film doesn’t forget to reveal the protagonist’s vulnerable/emotional side. We see his affection for a woman much younger than himself, and while it’s clear she doesn’t share his feelings, she’s gently moved by his affection. Through this blend of vulnerability and pride, Hart’s character comes fully into view.Andrew Mohsen