Some post-review thoughts jotted down by a legit fan of Edward Norton. I have tried to put it in an objective way, but still, don’t read into it too much.
Genre: It’s quite a modern but classic film noir that Hollywood almost never makes anymore in the 2010s and 2020s, not alone setting the story back to the 1950s. It makes sense why it takes years to complete this project, especially when it comes to Edward Norton. I believe he intended to rewrite the original novel quite a lot to reflect his own philosophies.
A 144-Minute Movie: Its slowness could kill impatient audiences. But whoever appreciates meaningful theatrical experience or classic Jazz and music written by Thom Yorke might find it thought-provoking and entertaining.
As a fan, I’m sincerely proud of Edward as he finally came up with a work that purely shared his own voice, however, the lengthy story may distract people in the middle. It could have made a better balance between being self-respecting and audience-centered. I was setting the bar high and expecting a more intensive story from Edward, because that’s Edward!
The Story: There weren’t a lot of twists around the detective line but it had much more complex layers behind: friendship, loyalty, power and intimidation, violence, social justice, the exploration of city planning and development. And most importantly, showing respect to people who suffered uncomfortable conditions that put them at a disadvantaged place in society.
Admittedly, I found it a little bit hard to peel off all the layers to hit the core. It overshadowed Chinatown and to some extent, Rain Man, as well. Personally, I wish the story could have gone further on either one of these two paths.
And it’s a story about New York. Edward loves New York. That’s where he lives. That was where he started his acting career. No one who is passionate about the city wouldn’t fall in love with Brooklyn after living in New York for a while. Brooklyn Bridge, Manhattan Bridge, Washington Square, Penn Station, the jazz bar in Harlem, and some random neighborhoods in Brooklyn - they all look weirdly familiar and lovable in the movie - even including the typical New York train noise that comes on and off and cuts off your ongoing conversation with someone else if living near a train road track.
Performance: Edward absolutely nailed down another difficult role. He gave audiences an authentic image of patients suffering from Tourette’s syndrome. The rest of the cast was as amazing as they were supposed to be. I think it’s totally fair to say Edward is a top talented actor in his generation!
Anyways, it was absolutely enjoyable to watch Edward Norton play a leading role on the big screen. Bravo, Edward! Till next time.