MOTHERLESS BROOKLYN

Review: In 1950’s New York, a lonely private detective with Tourette’s Syndrome investigates a corrupt city official.
Director: Edward Norton
Actors: Edward Norton, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Alec Baldwin, Willem Dafoe, Bruce Willis, Ethan Suplee, Cherry Jones, Bobby Cannavale, Dallas Roberts, Josh Pais, Fisher Stevens, Peter Gray Lewis, Robert Wisdom and Michael Kenneth Williams
Year: 2019
Genre: Crime, Drama, Mystery and Thriller
Conclusion: 4/5
Based on a novel by Jonathan Lethem, set in 1999. The year that the novel was published, Edward Norton wrote the screenplay to be set in 1957 as he believed the novel’s characters and dialogue were better suited to a noir film. A really enjoyable film. This made it enjoyable because I actually got the sense and feeling that Edward Norton enjoyed making this film and it was also his own project. Apparently it took Edward Norton two decades to get this film made. Great cast list including Alec Baldwin, Willem Dafoe and Gugu Mbatha-Raw. Even though Bruce Willis only really has a short cameo the part he played was so convincing plus he is also so watchable. I did come away remembering his performance and he did have a lot of impact in the film. I have been following Gugu Mbatha-Raw since she was in one of my favourite films called Belle (2013) and have enjoyed everything she has been in since. I thought that the production design was brilliant and completely faultless. I also enjoyed the musical score. I don’t normally like Thom Yorke’s (from Radiohead) music but was totally blown away by his few songs from this film. This isn’t a negative thing to say but it is a very lengthy film standing in at 2 hours 24 minutes but don’t let that put you off. I hardly noticed the time and thought it went really quickly which is a sign of a good film. Even though this got nominated for a Golden Globe Award I can’t believe that it didn’t get nominated for Bafta’s or Academy Awards (Oscars).