Motherless Brooklyn

Director: Edward Norton Edward Norton

Overview

Edward Norton writes, directs and stars?alongside Bruce Willis, Leslie Mann, Alec Baldwin, and Willem Dafoe?in this adaptation of Jonathan Lethem's 1999 novel of the same name. He plays a private detective living with Tourette's syndrome in 1950s New York City. His determination to solve the murder of his best friend and mentor takes him through the Harlem jazz scene, the Brooklyn slums, and into the ranks of the city's most powerful men.

Product Details

Release Date:	01/28/2020
UPC:	0883929668052
Original Release:	2019
Rating:	R
Source:	Warner Home Video
Region Code:	1
Presentation:	[Wide Screen]
Sound:	[Dolby Digital Stereo, Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround]
Language:	English
Time:	2:24:00
Sales rank:	31,634

Special Features

Making-Of: Edward Norton's Methodical Process: A behind-the-scenes look at how the writer/director/producer/star brought the prizewinning novel to life; English Descriptive Audio; English SDH Subtitles

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Bruce Willis	Frank Minna
Gugu Mbatha-Raw	Actor
Alec Baldwin	Actor
Willem Dafoe	Actor
Ethan Suplee	Actor
Leslie Mann	Actor
Michael K. Williams	Actor
Bobby Cannavale	Actor
Cherry Jones	Actor,Reformer #2
Dallas Roberts	Actor
Josh Pais	Actor
Fisher Stevens	Lou
Radu Spinghel	Giant Man
Robert Wisdom	Billy Rose
Eric Berryman	King Rooster Bartender
Nelson Avidon	Jacob Gleason
Iasiah J. Thompson	King Rooster Piano Player
Joseph Siravo	Union Boss Speaker
DeShawn White	Betty
Russell Hall	King Rooster Bassist
Joe Farnsworth	King Rooster Drummer
Miguel Govea	Formosa Bartender,Formosa Bartender
Erica Sweany	Formosa Hostess
Jerry Weldon	King Rooster Saxophonist
Katy Davis	Inwood Residential Secretary
Olli Haaskivi	Hall of Records Clerk
Yinka Adeboyeku	Angry Young Man
Freddie Joe Farnsworth	King Rooster Drummer
Garrett Richmond	Beatnik
Michael Iacono	Athletic Club Boy
Jake Cerny	Newspaper Boy
Edward Norton	Lionel Essrog
Joyce O'Connor	Cindy Fleming
Thomas Luiz Leninger	Paperboy
Deborah Unger	Brooklyn Bar Waitress
Ezra Barnes	Doctor
Daniel Pemberton	Composer
Julie Hays	Nurse
Damien Brett	Orderly
Stephen Adly Guirgis	Detective
Eli Bridges	Beatnik
Luis Castro DeLeon	Young Cat #1
Teren Carter	Young Cat #2
Peter Gray Lewis	Actor

Technical Credits

Jonathan Lethem

Edward Norton

Michael Bederman	Producer
Bill Migliore	Producer
Gigi Pritzker	Producer
Rachel Shane	Producer
Jonathan Lethem	Screenwriter
Adrian Alperovich	Executive Producer
Sue Kroll	Executive Producer
Daniel Nadler	Executive Producer
Edward Norton	Screenwriter,Producer,Director
Robert Smith	Executive Producer

Editorial Reviews

Motherless Brooklyn leads us through 1950's New York and is also told in a voice reflecting that place and time. An all-star cast is not wasted on a more artistic than modern take on an underdog trying to break through various challenges to solve the mystery surrounding the death of his boss and only friend. Starring, written, produced, and directed by Edward Norton (Keeping the Faith) this labor of love pays homage to the 1999 novel Motherless Brooklyn by author Jonathan Lethem. More faithful to the spirit of the novel than the text, Norton nuances his performance in sensitively portraying Lionel Essrog, a man suffering from Tourette's Syndrome, a condition that for him involves both physical tics, as well as an inability to not say certain things out loud-including vulgarities. His disability causes people to not take him seriously, and for much of his early life, it defines the lonely nature of his character. Frank Minna (Bruce Willis) sees this weakness as a possible strength and recognizes the sharp, puzzle-solving mind underneath the tics. He recruits Lionel to become an undercover detective for his agency, but his own career is cut short when he's murdered in broad daylight, leaving only Lionel to care of solving the mystery behind his death. Lionel goes on sparse clues, befriending Laura Rose (Gugu Mbatha-Raw) a lawyer who's obsessed with making the world a better place, even if it means sticking her nose in the business of powerful and dangerous people like Moses Randolph (Alec Baldwin), a wealthy mastermind behind the scenes. Slower paced, like an old-time crime drama, the set design makes it look like an authentic, dated New York City. Motherless Brooklyn transports us into a jazz music fueled era, which is deftly captured by the art-focused cinematography. While the film itself is not disjointed, it does explore characters and situations that have no payoffs, which is a rarity for modern films. In this case, that works because it keeps your mind spinning as you try to keep up with the grand mystery that's presented. The slow, reflective beats allow an opportunity to catch up while more world-building story is presented. One major conflict in Motherless Brooklyn as well as any film with a mentally or physically challenged character is that there's a fine line in representing that character with compassion and using their disability as the comic relief. There are obvious and intentional serious moments that are broken up with a laugh at the expense of Lionel's disability, but there are also moments where the challenge is directly addressed and shown that it can be used as a strength. Ultimately, the pace of Motherless Brooklyn is slow enough to be enjoyable for fans of older-style movies that focus on characters and details, like the gorgeous set-pieces and costuming; while more modern fans of ultra-violence and action-packed fight scenes, and car chase sequences may be let down.