Recently, I wrote an editorial chronicling Richard Gere’s career and the many different turns he’s taken throughout Hollywood. The point of the piece was to show that Gere was a true actor willing and able to take risk and chances, but whose rise in popularity led to him being typecast for many years as Hollywood’s go-to romantic leading man.
https://cinapse.co/the-evolution-of-richard-gere-e7a0cc74b7e8
In the past few years however, Gere has shed much of his movie star persona when it comes to selecting projects and has instead adopted a fearlessness with regards to the filmmakers he chooses to work with and the roles he undertakes. Nearly every recent turn on screen has been labeled as his best performance ever by multiple critics, all of whom continue to be wowed by Richard Gere, the actor. Gere’s turn in the recently-released Norman has once more scored the actor similar acclaim as he has proven himself to top himself yet again with another soul-searing performance.
Titled Norman: The Moderate Rise and Tragic Fall of a New York Fixer, the film stars Gere as Norman Oppenheimer, a New York Jewish man who offers his services as a fixer for many of the city’s prominent citizens, including a well-respected rabbi (Steve Buscemi), a high-powered attorney (Michael Sheen) and the executive assistant to a wealthy businessman (Dan Stevens). The problem for Norman is that despite his endless efforts to be in the pockets of all these individuals, each sees him as merely a “hanger-on” more interested in having his name associated with theirs than anything else. As a result, none of them want anything to do with Norman. This all changes when, after a series of small events, Norman becomes friendly with a visiting politician (Lior Ashkenazi) who eventually becomes the Prime Minister of Israel.
SLIGHT SPOILERS HEREIN*
The main appeal of writer/director Joseph Cedar’s film is without question Norman himself. This a character piece and one which operates on so many different levels and wavelengths that it pulsates with a kind of energy that’s both intimate and exciting thanks to the figure at the center of it all. So many of Norman’s traits make him, loveable, if not compulsively watchable. Norman is a man whose intense goals and ambitions have imbued him with patheticness, desperation, eagerness and, above all else, loyalty. This is an individual whose sole purpose in life is to be the man in the room everyone connects with and everyone praises. One gets the impression that his own self-worth dependent on his ability to deliver the moon and the stars to the wealthy and influential, and to be showered with praise for it. However it is a determination so profoundly intense that it’s only a matter of time before Norman begins to lose his grip on reality. One of the film’s key scenes shows a nervous Norman being warmly greeted by the Eshel, the Prime Minister. It’s a victory so sweet and meaningful for Norman that almost brings tears to your eyes. It’s a moment whose power is nearly matched by the scene where Eshel knows he must effectively cut ties with Norman for both their sakes.
In many ways, Cedar’s film is a lot like Norman himself in the way it so subtly adopts one tonal shift after another. The film is a drama on the surface, with plenty of moments which point to this. Yet there’s also a level of dark humor in the many dizzying spins Norman gives to everyone he tries to do business with, most of whom avoid him like the plague. There are even shades of a thriller with regards to whether or not Norman will be able to pull off all the promises he’s made as time runs out and pressures begin to mount. Most of all, there’s the question of whether Norman can maintain a firm hold on his manic faculties which even he begins to doubt.
Gere can very well be accused of (understandably) slipping into light Woody Allen mannerisms with Norman. Yet any such allusions are swept away when the actor so tellingly brings the character’s depth and sadness to the surface in ways which sometimes don’t even require dialogue. In the rush to marvel over another brilliant, and I DO mean brilliant turn from Gere, many would think it easy to forget about the large ensemble supporting him. Yet, every actor Gere finds himself opposite is given more than enough of a chance make their character’s known and their presence felt. Special praise goes to Buscemi and Charlotte Gainsbourg (strongly poetic as an attorney for the Israeli government) for some solid work. Meanwhile, Ashkenazi gives a powerful turn as Eshel, bringing incredible life to a politician less concerned with right vs left and more with the grayness of morality.
The ending to Cedar’s film is also a lot like Norman himself in which our character commits an act which is both mixture of tragic poetry and dark hilarity. The moment is so wonderfully executed against a montage signifying Norman’s true power and strength. It’s a brilliant sequence which represents his lasting impact and legacy to those he encountered and so wanted to call his friends and confidants. Some watching Norman may laugh at the man in the center, while others will doubtless feel some level of sadness. But Norman, the movie and the man, nonetheless leave the most lasting of impressions.
