Quartile rating: 7.5/10 · 1 rating
New York City, 1957. Lionel Essrog, a private detective living with Tourette syndrome, tries to solve the murder of his mentor and best friend, armed only with vague clues and the strength of his obsessive mind.
Motherless Brooklyn is a passion project for Edward Norton, who adapted, directed, and starred in it. The film boasts strong performances across the board—Norton's portrayal of Lionel Essrog with Tourette syndrome is committed and detailed, and the supporting cast including Bruce Willis, Willem Dafoe, and Alec Baldwin is excellent. The cinematography beautifully evokes 1950s New York in a classic neo-noir style with rich, atmospheric visuals. However, the plot, while ambitious in weaving together political corruption and personal mystery, runs overlong and loses momentum in its middle sections, feeling somewhat meandering. The neo-noir detective genre is well-trodden territory, limiting novelty despite the Tourette angle adding distinctiveness. The ending resolves its conspiracy threads but feels somewhat anticlimactic and emotionally muted, failing to fully pay off the buildup.