Norman: The Moderate Rise and Tragic Fall of a New York Fixer

Parental Rating: R

Contains: Language    Adult Content    

Jill's Review

Opens May 5, 2017

Runs 118 minutes

Norman Oppenheimer (Richard Gere) is a small time mover and shaker trying to move into the big leagues. He is constantly name-dropping and trying to put people together, hoping for some kind of long-term pay-off. His relentless pursuit of people with influence finally pays off when he befriends a deputy minister from Israel who is visiting New York. Norman buys Micha Eshel (Lior Ashkenazi) an expensive pair of shoes, just hoping to make a friend in the Israeli Government. Three years later, Micha is the Israeli Prime Minister and Norman has his private cell phone number. Norman schemes and plots, hoping to use his friendship with the Israeli Prime Minister to boost his reputation and for possible financial reward. Norman gets a little more than he bargained for in both good and very bad ways.

This movie is really hard to describe. It starts off a little slow and ends up feeling like a thriller. Richard Gere is fantastic as a very needy man trying to make himself more important than he really is. It is almost hard to watch his desperation as he purposely bumps into people just hoping to make a connection. He is so good in this role. Lior Ashkenazi is great as the Israeli Prime Minister, a very honorable man just trying to do the right thing. Steve Buscemi shows up as a Rabbi and Michael Sheen as Norman's nephew. Everyone is so good. There isn't a whole lot of action. Everything happens via conversation. But, the movie still crackles and has plenty of tension. If you want to see something a little different - sharp and smart, then this might be for you. The Husband and I really iked it. Go see it.

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