Motherless Brooklyn (C+ or 2.5/4 stars)
After almost 2 decades, Edward Norton has finally brought Jonathan Lethem's novel 'Motherless Brooklyn' to the big screen, albeit set in NYC of 1957 instead of the 1990s. Norton directs, produces, writes & stars in this, his homage to the noir detective mysteries of yesteryear. It's a labor of love passion project for him. Admirable. But it's a bit bloated. And I just wish the story were better. Long-suffering from Tourette syndrome, private detective Lionel Essrog (Norton) was a lonely, bullied orphan when he was taken under the wing of detective Frank Minna (Bruce Willis), his only real friend & mentor. Despite the Tourette's, Frank recognized Lionel's immense gift for numbers & memorizing every word he hears.
Frank alone trusted Lionel, so when he is killed by some nefarious henchmen, Lionel takes it upon himself to find his killers, over the objections of the other partners in Frank's agency, Tony (Bobby Cannavale) & Danny (Dallas Roberts). Thus begins a sprawling odyssey into the corrupt underbelly of the slums of Brooklyn & one particularly gin-soaked jazz club in Harlem. Armed only with a few thin clues & the power of his obsessive mind, Lionel slowwwly unravels closely-guarded secrets that hold the fate of NYC in the balance. Dealing with thugs, power brokers, and the like, the heart of the investigation appears to rest on the shoulders of a beautiful African-American woman named Laura Rose (Gugu Mbatha-Raw) - the woman Frank was following before his murder.
Other characters in this tale include a savant jazz trumpeter superbly played by Michael Kenneth Williams (of Boardwalk Empire); he's so good that I wish he were in the story more so. There's a shifty down-on-his-luck architect played by Willem Dafoe; Dafoe's character is polar opposite to the one he plays in another film currently in theaters, The Lighthouse. And we've got racist, power-hungry NY commissioner / developer, Moses "but not Robert Moses" Randolph played by Alec Baldwin. He thinks nothing of relocating thousands of poor, working-class minorities if it means he gets another park, bridge or building to satisfy his new vision of NY. Secrets are harbored in all of these characters and, though he gets in over his head, it's up to Lionel to both honor his deceased friend and save the woman who might be the key to this mystery ... and to his own salvation.
Edward Norton is a highly skilled actor. He impresses here. Though, I found him more effective in his quieter, tortured soul scenes - particularly when sharing them with Gugu Mbatha-Raw - than when his untimely shrieks & jerks of the Tourette's take hold. i.e., when he greets Frank, he'll say, "Frank, Frankly Frankity Franco!" Or he'll open & close a door once, twice, three times to make sure it clicks correctly. Norton doesn't overplay the affliction, but it is a mild distraction. One of my favorite scenes is the one he shares with Gugu Mbatha-Raw on a dance floor where her snuggling on his shoulder temporarily neuters his uncontrollable outbursts.
As I watched this lengthy 144 minute long film noir, I mildly enjoyed the moment-to-moment goings on. I wasn't thrilled per say, but I was IN the movie. Having said that, about 2/3 through, I started getting antsy that things would 'pick up' or that 'whole' would be better than the sum of its parts. Does it all add-up to something thoroughly gripping or inherently intriguing? No, it doesn't. That's the biggest disappointment for me. See, the acting is of high quality. Norton & his production team display a keen eye for the time period, from store window displays to classic bath houses to the gorgeous vintage cars to the costumes, to Dick Pope's lived-in cinematography {moody, hazy lighting, great shots of NY's bridges}, et al -- that's all fine.
But when one thinks of the 'greats' of this film genre, The Maltese Falcon, Chinatown, L.A. Confidential ... this one just doesn't have the same verve or intrigue. Additionally, when we think of the 'greats' - in ANY genre - you remember the names of the characters, the details of the plot & memorable quotes. No such luck, here. Instead, 'Motherless Brooklyn' gets a bit suffocated by its noir conventions and ends up just being a mildly effective mood piece with a labyrinthine, low-interest, plotline. Intermittent character moments & stellar craftsmanship keep the whole thing afloat; but only barely.
Frank alone trusted Lionel, so when he is killed by some nefarious henchmen, Lionel takes it upon himself to find his killers, over the objections of the other partners in Frank's agency, Tony (Bobby Cannavale) & Danny (Dallas Roberts). Thus begins a sprawling odyssey into the corrupt underbelly of the slums of Brooklyn & one particularly gin-soaked jazz club in Harlem. Armed only with a few thin clues & the power of his obsessive mind, Lionel slowwwly unravels closely-guarded secrets that hold the fate of NYC in the balance. Dealing with thugs, power brokers, and the like, the heart of the investigation appears to rest on the shoulders of a beautiful African-American woman named Laura Rose (Gugu Mbatha-Raw) - the woman Frank was following before his murder.
Other characters in this tale include a savant jazz trumpeter superbly played by Michael Kenneth Williams (of Boardwalk Empire); he's so good that I wish he were in the story more so. There's a shifty down-on-his-luck architect played by Willem Dafoe; Dafoe's character is polar opposite to the one he plays in another film currently in theaters, The Lighthouse. And we've got racist, power-hungry NY commissioner / developer, Moses "but not Robert Moses" Randolph played by Alec Baldwin. He thinks nothing of relocating thousands of poor, working-class minorities if it means he gets another park, bridge or building to satisfy his new vision of NY. Secrets are harbored in all of these characters and, though he gets in over his head, it's up to Lionel to both honor his deceased friend and save the woman who might be the key to this mystery ... and to his own salvation.
Edward Norton is a highly skilled actor. He impresses here. Though, I found him more effective in his quieter, tortured soul scenes - particularly when sharing them with Gugu Mbatha-Raw - than when his untimely shrieks & jerks of the Tourette's take hold. i.e., when he greets Frank, he'll say, "Frank, Frankly Frankity Franco!" Or he'll open & close a door once, twice, three times to make sure it clicks correctly. Norton doesn't overplay the affliction, but it is a mild distraction. One of my favorite scenes is the one he shares with Gugu Mbatha-Raw on a dance floor where her snuggling on his shoulder temporarily neuters his uncontrollable outbursts.
As I watched this lengthy 144 minute long film noir, I mildly enjoyed the moment-to-moment goings on. I wasn't thrilled per say, but I was IN the movie. Having said that, about 2/3 through, I started getting antsy that things would 'pick up' or that 'whole' would be better than the sum of its parts. Does it all add-up to something thoroughly gripping or inherently intriguing? No, it doesn't. That's the biggest disappointment for me. See, the acting is of high quality. Norton & his production team display a keen eye for the time period, from store window displays to classic bath houses to the gorgeous vintage cars to the costumes, to Dick Pope's lived-in cinematography {moody, hazy lighting, great shots of NY's bridges}, et al -- that's all fine.
But when one thinks of the 'greats' of this film genre, The Maltese Falcon, Chinatown, L.A. Confidential ... this one just doesn't have the same verve or intrigue. Additionally, when we think of the 'greats' - in ANY genre - you remember the names of the characters, the details of the plot & memorable quotes. No such luck, here. Instead, 'Motherless Brooklyn' gets a bit suffocated by its noir conventions and ends up just being a mildly effective mood piece with a labyrinthine, low-interest, plotline. Intermittent character moments & stellar craftsmanship keep the whole thing afloat; but only barely.