Motherless Brooklyn
MOTHERLESS BROOKLYN (Gugu Mbatha-Raw and Edward Norton) - Warner Bros
Motherless Brooklyn is the sophomore directing effort — nineteen years on from his last feature film Keeping the Faith released in 2000 — from Edward Norton, who writes and stars in this cinematic piece based of the novel of the same name by writer Jonathan Lethem.
Norton's second feature film relocates the source material‘s time frame from the late 1990s to 1950s New York City, specifically Brooklyn, ultimately crafting a sumptuous and tremendously scaled period film that not only elevates the material at hand in conjunction with the time period but also serves as a stunning immersive element in the way of tremendous production design by Beth Mickle and Michael Ahern.
The latter is implemented in such a powerful, living and breathing entity with character and bravado. It engulfs the screen with delightful presence and undoubtedly crafts a far more immersive feature than perhaps ought to be. It is caught beautifully by the eye of Dick Pope and editor Joe Klotz, who together with Norton have remarkably curated an ideal and long-forgotten film from the 1970s. Nothing that can rival the likes of The Godfather or Taxi Driver but something that would fit in between those two classics with ease.
The former is a glaringly obvious socially conscious element that one can see off a mile away. However, it undoubtedly works and it does so due to the authentic nature of how it is written, but it chronicles itself as a subtle nuance with far greater depth under the surface — written splendidly by Norton, who provides an intriguing and on-the-nose arc of dominating big business and incestuous cycle of greed.
MOTHERLESS BROOKLYN (Alec Baldwin + Edward Norton) - Warner Bros
Norton's political stance of Motherless Brooklyn takes up a great deal of mystery and mysticism within the running time that ultimately clocks the feature at a quite staggering a one-hundred-and-fifty-minutes. It is glaringly evident that it never needs to exceed the one-hundred-and-twenty-minute mark. Nevertheless, it never feels dull or slow and always engages with its small moments of character development between Norton's Brooklyn or Gugu Mbatha-Raw's Laura Rose — two performances that are emotionally engulfing and thrilling to watch develop.
Norton expertly crafts a character with Tourettes syndrome and a mind that won't stop overindulging on a small detail. It's a light but stirring nuance that is expertly projected by the actor, who balances such a characteristic flawlessly in the range of both drama and comedic sensibility. Norton never strays too far into exploitation and has the syndrome grounded for a compelling aspect of a character with authentic struggles and trials. Gugu Mbatha-Raw is equally as terrific. A smaller role compared to Norton, undoubtedly, but one with delicacy and emotional range with fitting execution.
The cast is rounded out with the supporting talents such as Bobby Cannavale, Willem Dafoe and a strong-bloated cameo from Bruce Willis, who gives the strong impression he is back on track regarding his filmography. Nevertheless, it is the demanding and prowess of Alec Baldwin as villain Moses Randolph that really shines; his character who is key to the mysteries this film holds quite close to his chest. However, it that very mystery that Norton ultimately fluffs and misses the target.
The unfolding mystery is an element that slowly takes place and for the most part, takes the backseat in the proceeding plot. Only for Norton to never really restrain or reign it in when it builds back up again, widening and widening to the point of perhaps excessiveness and over-exaggeration with a climax that is tremendously underwhelming with no real weight.
Motherless Brooklyn is released November 1st in the U.S. and December 6th in the U.K.
