Motherless Brooklyn
Starring: Edward Norton, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Alec Baldwin, Bobby Cannavale, Willem Dafoe, Bruce Willis, Ethan Suplee, Cherry Jones, Dallas Roberts, Josh Pais, Fisher Stevens, Michael Kenneth Williams, Leslie Mann
Directed by: Edward Norton
Rating: R
Genre: Drama, Mystery
2019

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: In the 1950s, a private detective (Edward Norton) with Tourette's Syndrome tries to track down his mentor's killer.

Review:

Tim: I don't think Edward Norton is a great director, but he's a pretty good one. Motherless Brooklyn is his first effort at directing in 19 years, since 2000's Keeping the Faith. That was a decent movie, and this is a good one, so there's a clear improvement between his first and second movies. I enjoyed this film- it's flawed, but it has a strong cast and tells an interesting story.

It feels like we've seen so many similar movies to this over the years. Still, there's a certain amount of enjoyment we get from seeing private investigators in the 1950s. That was a whole different world and it's fascinating to see them track down a mystery without the help of modern technology. The movie is helped by a truly effective plot. I haven't read the novel upon which it's based, but I imagine it's a good one. There's a lot here to unpack, there's multiple threads that weave together to form a surprisingly complex story, filled with twists and turns. That felt like a slight differentiator here- not all movies like this have plots this complicated. Norton is careful to keep us in the dark, but never make us feel like we're completely lost. Walking that fine line is a difficult balancing act, but he mostly does it. One of the downsides to this film is that it's bloated, at a ridiculous 2 hours, 24 minutes. That hurts the movie, but less so than you might expect. You could argue that the inflated run time has something to do with Norton's (apparently) inflated ego. Some of that is probably true. However, he also crams a ton from the book into this movie. The alternative would have been to cut subplots or characters. That would have helped by speeding the movie up, but it would have diminished the complexity and richness of the story. It's a hard choice. Too many films go the other way- cut deep from the book and get the run time where it needs to be. I liked that Norton treated this the opposite way.

The cast is the biggest reason to see this movie. Norton is a great actor and he does strong work here. I was worried when I saw that his character had Tourette's Syndrome that he was going to play this up to a ridiculous "look at me" level. I thought he did the character justice. He can be a nuanced actor when he needs to be and he brought a great touch of subtlety to a character who's chief characterization is anything but subtle. I enjoyed his performance far more than I expected.

I'm a fan of Gugu Mbatha-Raw. Every time I see her in a film, I leave impressed. That same thing holds true here. She's just a good actress. She never seems to go over-the-top. She just shows up and greatly adds to the movie in small, easily overlooked ways. She was effective here. Alec Baldwin added a good supporting performance. He didn't get a whole lot to do, but he made use of his few scenes. Willem Dafoe is always great and I really enjoyed his mysterious performance. He shows up, drives the plot forward, and goes away again. Dafoe is such a talented actor that he's able to make a big difference in multiple short scenes like this. I was glad to see Bruce Willis here. His characters is (SPOILER) only in the early stages of the film, but his performance is strong and he makes a lasting impression. Norton pulls in some strong talent for the supporting cast. It was great to see Ethan Suplee, Leslie Mann, Cherry Jones, Dallas Roberts, Fisher Stevens, and Michael Kenneth Williams in small roles. I enjoy all of those actors and it was a lot of fun seeing them here. They don't get a ton of screen time, but every single one of them makes the movie better.

While this movie is too long, it does tell an interesting story. It features a large cast of unique characters. It keeps the audience (mostly) interested. I was curious to see how it would all play out. Now, as much as I was intrigued by the events on screen, I felt no emotional attachment to anyone in the film. That's what prevents this movie from being better. It's like Norton's analytical approach masters the who, what, where, when, and why but forgets the heart underneath it all. Norton wrote the screenplay and he did a masterful job of adapting a challenging work. But, his strengths are more intellectual. He isn't able to infuse his character or his film with enough heart. The emotional component is lacking, which blunts the movie's effectiveness.

That being said, I still enjoyed Motherless Brooklyn. It's a well-made movie. It's thought-provoking and takes you on a journey worth going on. This movie was better than I expected and I'd consider it a very worthwhile film.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 7



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: Live by Night, Keeping the Faith