Motherless Brooklyn: A Messy Adaptation

For the past 20 years Motherless Brooklyn has been Edward Norton's biggest priority. Ever since he read the book in 1999 he has been fighting to get it made. Norton has directed the adaptation and casted himself as the lead detective with Tourette Syndrome, Lionel Essrog. Norton faces the challenge in adapting a novel based off the inside thinking of Essrog's head into a narrative based on his surroundings. He is challenged with communicating thoughts into a visual experience.

Motherless Brooklyn is a noir crime piece that starts off with a small crime that unravels into something even bigger. During the first scene Norton pulls at a loose thread on his sweater that then unravels providing foreshadowing for what is to come as his character takes on a major case. Lionel works for Frank Minna and when Minna is murdered Lionel is left to put together the pieces of who killed him and why.

Minna's death brings Lionel o a major problem in the city: a clash between black residents and the city planners of New York City. They center around a Harlem club called The King Roster which is the hub for Laura, who is a secretary and activist who is against the treatment of black residents in the gentrified neighborhoods. Lionel and Laura partner up in opposition of Moses Randoplh with the aid of the mysterious Willem Dafoe who is dedicated to bringing down Moses for reasons that remain disclosed.

Lethem's Motherless Brooklyn novel serves to tell the story of a time in the city's history where city planners were running scams on residents in order to plan for the future. It involved minions doing dirty work and to stop the opposition from minority communities. The film succeeds in showing the devastating changes to a neighborhood after gentrification through the culture and people who fall victim to it. It brings awareness to an issue still affecting many minority communities in America today.

The style of the 50s neo-noir draws on cinematography draws upon shadows and cynicism found in an urban environment after the war. It creates a murky tone through the use of greens and blues in shots. The film also manages to feel out of time through Norton's inability to blend in with the time period of 1950. Out of all the characters he stands out the most. The lighting at times seems bright and new which juxtapose the tone of the noir period piece.

Motherless Brooklyn is and feels extremely long with an over 2-hour run time with little action or tension that has audiences engaged. The noir elements Norton uses in his attempt to deliver a period piece that mixes history and fun falls flat. The film is flat and can't even be helped out through its great production design and cinematography. It is an interesting idea but doesn't translate well off the page.