Motherless Brooklyn
Pupule rating: 3.8 (out of 4)
Regal Dole Cannery
At two-plus hours, this performance by Edward Norton — he directed and wrote the screenplay based on a 1999 novel by Jonathan Lathem — and a stellar cast feels completely different from almost anything I've seen this year. Motherless has the feel, at times, of a painfully vulnerable soul like Honeytown, yet the pacing changes out of the blue.
The first 30 minutes or so rev up like a classic, retro gumshoe flick. I'm a sucker for period pieces, and this did not disappoint. All these Fords and Plymouths on the streets of New York City. Then, the pace changes. It turns into a waltz. A quirky, yet predictable waltz with occasional, high-octane riffs from Willem Defoe and Alec Baldwin.
The tics and tocks of Norton's character, who suffers from what appears to be a form of Tourette's Syndrome, often brings unwanted attention and embarrassment. Other times, Norton uses it as a comedic device with the flurry of rhymes and blunt honesty of his words. The distance of this film allows for all the nooks and crannies of his character's moment-to-moment negotiations with his condition.
The political corruption, the abuse of working-class Brooklyn residents, the evictions, the manipulations, all classic material. It's pertinent to today's America, but the relationship between Norton's Lionel Essrog and Gugu Mbatha-Raw's Laura Rose is compelling. They don't have a physical, "modern" relationship that would pass for typical in most films. It works so much better at this level, and allows us to meet them at a neutral, real level. Regardless of the times, 2019 or 1950s, audiences today — I believe — are perfectly satisfied to explore what two likeable characters are about without some "obligatory" sex scenes.
It's about tenderness. Above all the politics, the underlying racism and power-mongering, Norton and Lahem (I never read the book, but I'm fairly certain on this) aren't trying to spin a yarn about good guys finishing first and bad guys getting their comeuppence. Had either tried to launch Lionel and Laura into heroic climax, it wouldn't have worked. This is more about history than fable.
New York City has rent-control by law, and maybe what Norton offers via Lahem is the sense that with each decade, unintentional revolutionaries ascended to lead the fight against greed. It's a theme that every city needs, particularly where land is scarce and citizens are being pushed to the brink. Sound familiar, Honolulu?
What the trailer doesn't really indicate is that Bruce Willis isn't in this film for more than a few minutes, all at the beginning. And the power of the soundtrack, heavily jazzed, is incredible. After an hour, it is hypnotic, and the way Norton blends the sleuthing of Lionel — who impersonates a beat reporter — and the jazz club that Laura's father (or is it uncle?) owns is rareness. The music is absolutely a leading character in itself.
Norton was fantastic from day one, when he transformed Derek Vinyard from absolute racist thug into someone unexpected. It's a bit frustrating that he hasn't had many more roles as impactful, but this opportunity to direct and act, to write and take us back to a different era with such a potent lens is worth the two-plus hours at Regal Dole Cannery. Even without recliner seats and funky smelling carpets, Norton's offering wins. Big time.
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