Also checked out the curious men-in-hats neo noire with the curious title Motherless Brooklyn. This is a movie made by and for Edward Norton who directed, adapted, and stars in it. It’s based on a novel of the same name that was set in the late 80s but this tough guy flick is moved back to a more apt-to-the-genre 1950s. Tough guys in hats, dark alleyways, black-hearted powerful men, and goons in suit and tie (and hats).
So Ed Norton plays a gumshoe, a private eye, working in an office with other gumshoes headed by Bruce Willis, a gumshoe with a hat. But this is a film noire and things go south… Bruce Willis is murdered by goons under mysterious circumstances and now Norton’s character has to figure out why. Enter a dark underworld of criminals, local politicians who Own This City(!), dames, jazz, and hats.
Norton’s character has an inner monologue right out of classic film noire… but his character is deliberately drawn, I think, to upset the cliches. He’s an obsessive-compulsive who never forgets anything and has to work a problem like a knot that must be untied. He also has a bad case of Tourette syndrome so he has weird nervous tics and barks out weird comments at inopportune times (sometimes people believe him when he says it’s a condition, sometimes he gets ruffed up and thrown into the garbage).
Norton’s weird verbal gaffs are curious in that sometimes they are just played for easy jokes… but sometimes too they are used for character development and interesting interactions between characters. Yes, he says funny-ha-ha things around a pretty woman… but then he apologizes and she says she understands and that leads to a gentle, lovely scene between them. Or there’s a great scene where he’s listening to a jazz band and, when they are in a soothing groove, he’s fine but when they break into improv, his condition worsens. What Norton is doing takes time to get used to and you might find it crass and unfunny (punching down on a syndrome) but I think they found a pretty good even ground.
Oh, and jazz is a character unto itself in this flick. From the great score to scenes at a jazz club watching a band. I really found the soundtrack to the movie to be perfect for the film noire aesthetic.
And, yeah, it’s classic film noire with a lot of the standard features. The story revolves around shady local politics / shady city planners. There’s a dame to be protected, tough guys to avoid or fight, guys in hats, dark alleyways, shadows, and all the stuff you’d expect to see. Slightly modernized. I don’t think it’s a lazy film, I think it’s a film honoring old classics.
So I really liked this flick, even if a couple of the obvious plot twists were obvious. I think the overall crime and mystery was twisty and convoluted though so I can forgive these mistakes. The cast all do a great job, the movie looks cool, and the soundtrack is very cool. Check this out if you like old fashioned crime movies. And tough guys in hats.
Score: 85