X
- 2017
- R
- Sony Pictures Classics
- 1 h 58 m
- 2017
- R
- Sony Pictures Classics
- 1 h 58 m
Summary Norman Oppenheimer (Richard Gere) is a small time operator who befriends a young politician at a low point in his life. Three years later, when the politician becomes an influential world leader, Norman's life dramatically changes for better and worse.
Directed By: Joseph Cedar
Written By: Joseph Cedar
- 2017
- R
- Sony Pictures Classics
- 1 h 58 m
- 2017
- R
- Sony Pictures Classics
- 1 h 58 m
Norman: The Moderate Rise and Tragic Fall of a New York Fixer
75
6.2
Summary Norman Oppenheimer (Richard Gere) is a small time operator who befriends a young politician at a low point in his life. Three years later, when the politician becomes an influential world leader, Norman's life dramatically changes for better and worse.
Directed By: Joseph Cedar
Written By: Joseph Cedar
Top Cast
Metascore
Generally Favorable
Based on 33 Critic Reviews
75
82% Positive
27 Reviews
27 Reviews
18% Mixed
6 Reviews
6 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
Metascore
Generally Favorable
Based on 33 Critic Reviews
75
82% Positive
27 Reviews
27 Reviews
18% Mixed
6 Reviews
6 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
As involving as the story is with its impressive ensemble cast, “Norman” is above all a showcase for Gere’s substantial talents.
Cedar has given Gere his own “House of Cards” to move into, where the game analogies spin out as chess and, most tellingly, dominoes. Norman needs them to fall just so, and if they do, he will be a man to be reckoned with.
User Score
Generally Favorable
Based on 29 User Ratings
6.2
48% Positive
14 Ratings
14 Ratings
38% Mixed
11 Ratings
11 Ratings
14% Negative
4 Ratings
4 Ratings
User Score
Generally Favorable
Based on 29 User Ratings
6.2
48% Positive
14 Ratings
14 Ratings
38% Mixed
11 Ratings
11 Ratings
14% Negative
4 Ratings
4 Ratings
As a writer and a student of New York, I adore this film. It is superbly written. Richard Gere and the supporting cast are excellent. When Norman wangles his way into sitting next to the attractive young lawyer on the train and she identifies her job, and he blithely goes ahead explaining his "business" by drawing a diagram on her yellow pad—I am yelling, "Stop! Norman! you didn't listen to what her job is, you should know better than to try to impress her with your connection to the Prime Minister, eeeek!" Total enjoyment!
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Built out of complex performances etched with economic flair, unobtrusive camera work and the faintest tinge of comic whimsy (the film’s score, by Japanese trumpeter Jun Miyake, is marvelous), Norman is an intimate film that simply has no drawbacks.
The film is a sharp and keenly etched study of a man who would be the sidekick to kings.
Cedar has created a classic cautionary tale in Norman, and Gere flawlessly turns his tragic hero into someone who’s sympathetic and human.
Cedar might have built up a broader satirical thesis from all this wheeling and dealing, but he’s happy to let the film rest gently on Gere’s shoulders – these days, a pretty safe foundation.
The film arrives at its last shot with a sense of purpose, but Cedar’s clumsy plotting and uncharacteristically sterile compositions suggest that he’s charted the least enjoyable route to the film’s satisfying finale.
Witty, gorgeously directed, and nicely acted, Norman: The Moderate Rise and Tragic Fall of a New York Fixer is a nice welcome picture in Richard Gere's reputation.
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That title saves me from writing a plot summary. Richard Gere is the titular character, who scurries around NYC on his cell trying to make deals and establish connections. Gere is enjoyable in this uncharacteristically nebbish role, which is good, since he's in almost every scene. The machinations are interesting and the supporting cast strong. There are some cinematic flourishes that take the movie out of reality, but it still works. While the film isn't especially memorable, it places an intriguing character in an atypical story.
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A solid indie film, Norman: The Moderate Rise and Tragic Fall of a New York Fixer becomes far more compelling and resonant when it gets on with the tragic fall portion of its tale. While its final message can be troubling (though, hopefully, that is unintentional) and its moderate rise portion is quintessential character study indie with a run-of-the-mill approach to its story, Norman is a mostly entertaining film bolstered by some style displayed by director Joseph Cedar and an excellent leading performance by Richard Gere. Aside from those two elements, Norman is hardly a film that will stand out from the crowd and will likely get lost in time, even if it has an oddly great cast with Gere, Michael Sheen, Dan Stevens, Steve Buscemi, Lior ****, Josh Charles, and Charlotte Gainsbourg, all appearing here in mostly small roles.
Norman Oppenheimer (Gere) is one of those character studies of a man who is seen by everyone around him as a loser. Presenting himself as a consultant who tries to rub elbows with people who would never give him the time of day, Norman stalks potential business partners and tries to needle his way in any door. He is so unsuccessful that even his nephew Philip Cohen (Michael Sheen) tries to steer clear of being seen with him. However, when he creates a friendship with a member of the Israeli parliament who goes onto become Prime Minister of Israel, Misha Eshel (Lior ****), Norman is at the brink of making it all come together. Now, he just has to hustle to really be a king. He has to get Misha's son into Harvard using the fact that Philip went to Harvard and still has ties to the admissions counsel. For Philip, he has to get Rabbi Blumenthal (Steve Buscemi) to officiate his wedding to a Korean convert. For the Rabbi, he has to get Bill Kavish (Dan Stevens) to convince his wealthy boss to donate enough money to save the Rabbi's synagogue. For Bill and his boss, he has to get Misha to introduce them to a person within the United States treasury department. Juggling all of these balls only to get caught up in a bribery investigation with regard to Misha and having to overcome his appearance of being a loser, Norman quickly begins to experience his tragic fall.
With everybody on his back for not delivering what he has promised due to the fact that Misha's assistants have cut Norman off from contact with the Prime Minister, Norman is faced with failure after failure. Doors he could once sneak through are now slammed shut with people turning against him from every angle. The only thing that could make it worse is prior acquaintance Alex Green (Charlotte Gainsbourg) investigating the Prime Minister and Norman for an illegal business relationship between the two. Having realized he is a loser after being hounded by a man named Srul Katz (Hank Azaria) in a similar way to how he stalked men such as Bill Kavish earlier in the film, Norman is already down and out. His options are limited and this is where this character study really succeeds. While his mightily slow rise to the top is quite plainly written and hardly reveals anything about anybody, his tragic fall shows how cruel humanity can be. Everybody knew he could not deliver, but turn against him at the end and chastise him. They cut him off and even the Rabbi beats him up in an alley. He is destitute and backed against a wall. He has realized he is not a businessman, but just another bum on the streets. There is nothing to live for and there is nobody there for him. It is in this solitude where Gere acts the hell out of this role with a slow and labored realization of the truth. His solemn and reserved nature, hiding his inner turmoil, is powerful to watch unfold and fitting of the word "tragic". Until the film is able to reach this tragic fall, however, its moderate rise is rather dull and safe. It has moments of light comedy with an awkward score that is light and bubbly, which is wholly ill-fitting for its on-screen events. Norman is mostly an unlikable character who we can all see is a loser, but has none of the self-recognition yet. Its introduction to this world is far too labored and exposition-heavy to really compel or grip us, instead belaboring the point that nobody will talk to him and that he goes to creepy lengths to find business partners. Its first two acts are essentially just the same as any other independent film from the past few years about a man who is struggling and unable to really see that he is not treading water, but rather is drowning rapidly. Its painfully plain opening is just too safe and run-of-the-mill to really work beyond the strong performance from Gere in this portion.
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It is astonishing that the critics could cash out this supremely self-regarding piece of tosh at 76%. I'm writing in the forlorn hope that I can save a few punters from wasting their time and shekels. The opening credits, the closing shot, and everything in between, are dead on arrival. I could not discern a single original thought, nor any rational motive for green-lighting this, unless it is some sort of Trump-like attempt to normalise (normanise?) the Israeli regime. What on earth could have inspired figures like Gere and Buscemi to get involved?
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If you like boring movies, you'll love Norman. Norman is the most boring movie ever made. The Academy Awards should make a new category for Most Boring Movie just to recognize the mind-numbing tediousness of Norman. A bunch of boring guys in suits blather and give each other long looks laden with meaning, punctuated by long segments of religious music and five minutes of putting herring on a Ritz cracker (it wasn't even herring in cream sauce!) Even the lesbian was boring, same sotto voce as the boring guys. Sometimes they blather (yell) in Hebrew (or Yiddish?)and there are subtitles, yes, it's that ghastly. I checked my watch three times during the course of this film. When Scene 4 came on, I thought I'd die & almost left, but managed to persevere! It's as if Woody Allen found an old script under his bed and said, what the heck, might as well, I haven't got anything else going on. It's as **** had an idea that seemed like a good idea on the subway ride home & somehow got it made into a full blown movie. I gave it one point because for a second or two there might have been some decent acting, but then it devolved into character tics, like Richard Gear eating candy deliberately and squinting. There was an inordinate amount of squinting in this movie. There was not one whit of drama or thrill. Even Steve Buscemi couldn't infuse this ponderous script with any joy. To cap it all off, the director used cute split screen tricks to try and hold your interest and silly (again Woody Allen-esque) music in an attempt to breath some life into this dog.
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Production Company
Blackbird,
Cold Iron Pictures,
Movie Plus productions,
Oppenheimer Strategies,
Tadmor
Release Date Apr 14, 2017
Duration 1 h 58 m
Rating R
Tagline He's an operator. He's an optimist. He's a mystery.
Awards
National Board of Review, USA
• 1 Win & 1 Nomination
Cleveland International Film Festival
• 1 Nomination
