Motherless Brooklyn

      Actor Edward Norton optioned this book back in 1999 and has spent years developing it for the screen. His persistence has paid off in a beautiful film noir. Writing the screenplay, directing and starring has been a labor of love for Mr. Norton and while he has changed much of the story and moved the contemporary  timeline from the novel back to the 1950's, he has kept the frame work and the film now plays like an New York cousin to the film "Chinatown".

      Mr. Norton is Lionel Essrog, a junior grade detective who, along with Bobby Cannavale, Ethan Suplee, and Dallas Roberts work for the Frank Minna Detective Agency. Lionel has Tourette Syndrome although setting the film in the '50's, it's simply referred to as his condition/affliction. His Tourettes adds an extra layer to an already interesting character. When his boss, Frank (played by Bruce Willis) is killed very early in the film, Lionel sets out to find his killer and sets the rest of the plot in motion.

      Besides the aforementioned actors, the film also costars Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Alec Baldwin, Willim Dafoe, Cherry Jones, Leslie Mann, Michael K. Williams and Fisher Stevens. It's a great cast that transports us back to an earlier New York City filled with corrupt politicians, the seeds of racial change, fedora hats and good old fashioned detective work. In many ways it mirrors contemporary society where back door deals and racial injustice continue to flourish.

      A great score, costumes, and cinematography bring the story to life and while the running time is a bit challenging (almost two hours and thirty minutes), it's a precision nod to the film noir Mr. Norton had in mind when he wrote the screenplay. I would have loved to have seen it filmed in black and white.