Motherless Brooklyn
critic Reviews
, 64% Fresh Tomatometer Score- Motherless Brooklyn's imposing length requires patience, but strong performances and a unique perspective make this a mystery worth investigating.
- , Fresh Tomatometer ScoreSandra HallSydney Morning Herald
If that sounds worthy, well-meaning and incredibly dull, I can only say that Norton makes it work, spinning it into a twisting narrative that, admittedly, does require your concentration.
Read full article - , Fresh Tomatometer ScoreDavid StrattonThe Australian
The narrative and the characters are so interesting, and the whole theme...so riveting that Norton's immensely ambitious film succeeds as a compelling exercise in neo-film noir.
Read full article - , Fresh Tomatometer ScoreAlexandra Heller-NicholasThe Blue Lenses
Motherless Brooklyn is a love-letter to the long-held focus across film noir on masculinity in crisis, but through Lethem's source material and Norton's deep engagement with it, something genuinely fresh explodes out of seemingly familiar material.
Read full article - , Fresh Tomatometer ScoreMark KermodeKermode & Mayo's Film Review
My only criticism is that it does take its time, because it's not afraid to indulge in its story...but those moment are far fewer than I thought, and the story is not hard to follow.
Read full article - , Rotten Tomatometer ScoreKevin MaherTimes (UK)
The rest is a sluggish film noir pastiche (the setting of the novel has been inexplicably shifted from the late Nineties to the Fifties) that aims to emulate the jazzy intrigue of Chinatown, but delivers only clichés and screen-chewing vanity.
Read full article - , Fresh Tomatometer ScoreWendy IdeObserver (UK)
There's something showy and calculated about the whole thing. Still, it's worth watching...
Read full article - , Rotten Tomatometer ScoreJillian ChilingerianOffscreen With Jillian
It is an interesting idea but doesn't translate well off the page.
Read full article - , Fresh Tomatometer ScoreBill BriaVague Visages
Motherless Brooklyn may not be a sterling example of traditional noir, but its subtext is gripping in its own way. The victim of this crime story isn’t a dead man or a damsel in distress, but the spirit of a city.
Read full article - , Fresh Tomatometer ScoreJane FreeburyThe Canberra Times (Australia)
Motherless Brooklyn is an ambitious undertaking. It's a big-city story that champions the people versus the developers, an important, ongoing subject.
Read full article - , Rotten Tomatometer ScoreVictor PineyroSeventh Art Studio
Bobby Cannavale tries to save this movie, but Edward Norton tried to be the Jack of all trades, only to become a master of none. Huge problems of rhythm and tone make this film barely watchable. [Full review in Spanish]
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