Norman

Joseph Cedar's English-language, U.S.-Israeli co-production starring Richard Gere does not disappoint. Gere does a great job playing the titular role, a Manhattan consultant who has a knack for enticing powerful people. He meets a prominent Israeli politician in New York, and ends up offering to buy him an expensive pair of shoes. Later, the man becomes Prime Minister of Israel, setting the stage for major conflict. The script in this film is excellent. It is both witty and sophisticated at the same time, perfectly blending complexity and playfulness. Such a blend also manifests itself in the film's tone, which is handled very well given the film's themes and subject matter. If there's one complaint I have about this film, it is that of the pacing: the four-act structure of the film could have been paced better, as the second and third acts seem to have relatively little substance relative to the rest of the film. Other than that fairly minor complaint, this is most certainly a great film. Definitely recommended. 8.5/10

This movie definitely has some things going for it. It has an intelligent script and great acting by Richard Gere and the rest of the cast. But in the end I could not get past how annoying Norman is. In real life you couldn't stand to be around this type of person for more than five minutes. Yet he is in almost every scene. To make matters worse, we don't get any backstory for Norman and no scenes with his family and friends. His private life is a total mystery. We never even get to see him sitting down for a meal with his acquaintances. All we see is scene after scene where he is trying to manipulate someone for some advantage. And ultimately this becomes so annoying and monotonous that it doesn't even matter that Norman is doing it for altruistic reasons.

This film tells the story of a consultant in New York, who plants seeds in the future by helping others. One day, he buys a pair of shoes for a diplomat. Years later, the diplomat becomes the head of state, hence he reaps his rewards.

"Norman" was called "Oppenheimer Strategies", which is a way more interesting name. "Norman" sounds bland and generic, and I wish they have stuck with the original name which is more mysterious and thrilling. Anyway, the plot is actually engaging and mysterious at the same time. At first, I find Norman a compulsive liar, but then I begin to think he might be genuinely helpful and kind. The ultimate culmination is unexpected, and makes me really think about Norman's actions and motivation behind the action.

If there is a theme in Norman: The Moderate Rise and Tragic Fall of a New York Fixer (2017) it may be that sycophantic fixers are everywhere. They are the loners who gravitate towards successful people, offering favours, dropping names, and arranging introductions to ingratiate and elevate themselves. They are driven by self-interest and thrive in communities of self-interest. Politics is full of them.

The 'fixer dynamic' drives the film's titular character, Norman Oppenheimer (Richard Gere). He is a lonely middle age Jew without visible means of support except for being a life-size parasite on other people. The archetype of a pathological liar and dreamer, his modus-operandi could be labelled corrupt in an ethics debate: he flatters, panders, and gives gifts to those richer or more powerful, always manouvering for return on investment. By chance, he latches onto low-ranking Jewish politician Micha Eshel (Lior Ashkenazi) and gifts him a pair of outrageously expiensive shoes. They lose contact, but Norman has bought the right to drop his name anywhere. Three years later, Eshel is elected Prime Minister of Israel and Norman attends the celebrations. They re- unite and Eshel repays Norman by inviting him into the tent of influence where he is quickly out of his depth. As an inveterate fixer, he builds a complex web of promises that mostly cannot be delivered. While he does some good for some people, his house of cards eventually collapses and we are invited to judge where moral culpability lies. For every successful Eshel there are scores of Normans.

Richard Gere's superbly enigmatic characterisation of Norman is the heart of this dialogue-driven film. He is irritatingly unlikeable, like a fly on a hot summer day, yet somehow endearing. He is arrogant yet vulnerable; desperate for acceptance yet with few admirable attributes. His story is whimsically satirical rather than funny and at times it wobbles precariously on the inter-personal dynamic between two unpleasant stereotypes, Norman and Eshel. Some filming gimmickry, like split screens and freeze action scenes, is unhelpfully distracting and two hours is a long time for a character study. But with clear echoes of Woody Allen-esque existentialism, this film outs the fixer caricature that feeds voraciously in circles of influence. In professional domains they are called lobbyists.

Probably best - so many irritating aspects to this film - the lack of translation was the icing on the cake..... Not a decent character to be found in the entire film.