*My review of Motherless Brooklyn was originally published on Film Inquiry. Click here to read the original post and check out more great reviews from this awesome site!*
In some rare and surprising cases, outrageously low expectations can be a good thing. Case in point: Edward Norton‘s Motherless Brooklyn, the actor-turned-writer/director’s much-hyped and much-maligned adaptation of Jonathan Lethem‘s noir novel. Since the sprawling drama’s premiere at the Telluride Film Festival, it seems like buzz has been consistently on the decline, with a number of critics and fans of the book trashing Norton‘s creative choices and book-to-film alterations (disclaimer: I’m unfamiliar with the source material). Even though it’s probably not good for critics to admit that we’re not looking forward to specific films, I walked into Motherless Brooklyn with a certain degree of dread. Reviews were (and still are) mixed, the runtime is positively monumental at 144 minutes, and I don’t have any connections to the book: did Norton‘s passion project really have much to offer me as a moviegoer?
Naturally, in a twist worthy of a film noir classic, Motherless Brooklyn is actually something of an effective journey. The film follows Lionel Essrog (Norton), a private detective working under the wing of Frank Minna (Bruce Willis), a seasoned professional in the business. Frank is always cool as a cucumber; Lionel, on the other hand, suffers from a particular version of Tourette’s syndrome that causes him to involuntarily twitch, shout, and re-organize the world around him. At the film’s start, Frank is meeting with a group of thugs on what should be a routine operation. Instead, it ends with him getting a bullet in the stomach.
Frank doesn’t survive the attack, and his untimely death sends Lionel down a rabbit hole of chaos and corruption. In the quest to solve his mentor’s death, the private eye discovers the intersection of a powerful city planner (Alec Baldwin), a shady and possibly untrustworthy whistleblower (Willem Dafoe), and a woman (Gugu Mbatha-Raw) caught in the middle of this vast conspiracy, which could have significant ramifications for all of Brooklyn.
Norton‘s second feature is not a perfect film by any means, nor is it even a particularly noteworthy exemplar of the storied noir genre. The visual style from cinematographer Dick Pope illuminates the details of the era well, but it’s consistently over-lit — several scenes resemble the light-soaked work of Spielberg collaborator Janusz Kaminski, and not necessarily in a good way. Yet this period epic does come with its fair share of pleasures, from the impressive cast to the complex, sometimes labyrinthine crime narrative. The details of its story aren’t particularly memorable in the long run, but in the moment, Norton imbues the film with just enough propulsive momentum to keep things interesting, leaving viewers eager to discover the next big reveal.
But that’s not the ultimate point of the elaborate affair. Though it doesn’t always know what to do with it, Norton‘s film possesses a melancholic sensibility, and it uses that to reach some interesting ends. After burying itself knee-deep in a confusing and complicated plot for much of its 2.5 hour running time, Motherless Brooklyn ends on a note of warmth and camaraderie between Norton and Mbatha-Raw‘s characters. They’re just two lonely pawns in a game that goes well beyond their reach; in the end, they’ve only got each other.
It’s surprisingly touching, and it’s a welcome finale for a film that often borrows from much more fatalistic noir classics. The film basically plays like discount Chinatown, but compared to some of 2019’s other riffs on 70s classics, Norton‘s epic is a whole lot more successful.
THE FINAL GRADE: B- (6.7/10)
Image courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures
In some rare and surprising cases, outrageously low expectations can be a good thing. Case in point: Edward Norton‘s Motherless Brooklyn, the actor-turned-writer/director’s much-hyped and much-maligned adaptation of Jonathan Lethem‘s noir novel. Since the sprawling drama’s premiere at the Telluride Film Festival, it seems like buzz has been consistently on the decline, with a number of critics and fans of the book trashing Norton‘s creative choices and book-to-film alterations (disclaimer: I’m unfamiliar with the source material). Even though it’s probably not good for critics to admit that we’re not looking forward to specific films, I walked into Motherless Brooklyn with a certain degree of dread. Reviews were (and still are) mixed, the runtime is positively monumental at 144 minutes, and I don’t have any connections to the book: did Norton‘s passion project really have much to offer me as a moviegoer?
Naturally, in a twist worthy of a film noir classic, Motherless Brooklyn is actually something of an effective journey. The film follows Lionel Essrog (Norton), a private detective working under the wing of Frank Minna (Bruce Willis), a seasoned professional in the business. Frank is always cool as a cucumber; Lionel, on the other hand, suffers from a particular version of Tourette’s syndrome that causes him to involuntarily twitch, shout, and re-organize the world around him. At the film’s start, Frank is meeting with a group of thugs on what should be a routine operation. Instead, it ends with him getting a bullet in the stomach.
Frank doesn’t survive the attack, and his untimely death sends Lionel down a rabbit hole of chaos and corruption. In the quest to solve his mentor’s death, the private eye discovers the intersection of a powerful city planner (Alec Baldwin), a shady and possibly untrustworthy whistleblower (Willem Dafoe), and a woman (Gugu Mbatha-Raw) caught in the middle of this vast conspiracy, which could have significant ramifications for all of Brooklyn.
Norton‘s second feature is not a perfect film by any means, nor is it even a particularly noteworthy exemplar of the storied noir genre. The visual style from cinematographer Dick Pope illuminates the details of the era well, but it’s consistently over-lit — several scenes resemble the light-soaked work of Spielberg collaborator Janusz Kaminski, and not necessarily in a good way. Yet this period epic does come with its fair share of pleasures, from the impressive cast to the complex, sometimes labyrinthine crime narrative. The details of its story aren’t particularly memorable in the long run, but in the moment, Norton imbues the film with just enough propulsive momentum to keep things interesting, leaving viewers eager to discover the next big reveal.
But that’s not the ultimate point of the elaborate affair. Though it doesn’t always know what to do with it, Norton‘s film possesses a melancholic sensibility, and it uses that to reach some interesting ends. After burying itself knee-deep in a confusing and complicated plot for much of its 2.5 hour running time, Motherless Brooklyn ends on a note of warmth and camaraderie between Norton and Mbatha-Raw‘s characters. They’re just two lonely pawns in a game that goes well beyond their reach; in the end, they’ve only got each other.
It’s surprisingly touching, and it’s a welcome finale for a film that often borrows from much more fatalistic noir classics. The film basically plays like discount Chinatown, but compared to some of 2019’s other riffs on 70s classics, Norton‘s epic is a whole lot more successful.
THE FINAL GRADE: B- (6.7/10)
Image courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures
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