Book vs Film
I read Jonathan Lethem’s Motherless Brooklyn about a year ago. It’s best aspect is the protagonist, who suffers Tourette’s Syndrome. The mystery element is standard. Last night, courtesy of Netflix, I watched the 2019 screen adaptation, written, directed and starring the incredibly gifted Edward Norton. The only elements that survive the adaptation are the main character, his boss and co-workers. The plot is almost entirely changed, moved from the late ‘90’s to the late ‘50’s. What initiates it remains, but the rest is entirely different. Instead of a convoluted tale that includes Buddhists, the mob, and a Japanese corporation, it deals with power, corruption, politics and race. Several characters are based on legendary figures: Robert Moses, Miles Davis and, I believe, Bella Abzug or someone to that effect. Since the reviews were not kind and the box office take was abysmal, I went in with low expectations, although I sometimes sense critics attack an artist’s efforts because he is difficult, even an asshole, and I wonder if that was the case here. I was pleasantly surprised. Norton decided to go with the look and feel of a hard-boiled detective saga. The murder becomes less important than a dark secret at the heart of the plot. The star is his usual brilliant self, and Alec Baldwin is perfectly cast as the boorish bully builder. Cherry Jones lends her considerable talents to the part of the activist, and Michael Kenneth Williams is fine as the trumpeter. The female lead is handled capably by the UK’s Gugu Mbatha-Raw, sans accent, who was in nine episodes of one of my all-times favorite series, Spooks, billed as MI5 in the states. Willem Dafoe is excellent as the failed genius brother of the bully, as is the ubiquitous Bruce Willis as the gumshoe who gets everything rolling. Made on a budget of $26 million, Motherless Brooklyn returned only $18+ million worldwide. That’s a large gap to make up in DVD sales and rentals and streaming. I believe its deserves better, although it is not a great work. No one should be embarrassed by good. 25,000+ users at IMDb have rated it, forging to a consensus of 6.8 on a scale of ten. I think it would appeal most to those who enjoy an old-style private detective story, and to fans of the great cast. It runs two-hours-twenty-four minutes. The pace slackened only briefly. Still, it would be too slow for action aficionados. At one point I wondered if Norton was likening the builder to Donald Trump, making a political statement. If so, it was not belabored. Is it an accurate portrayal of Robert Moses? I have no idea. It seems any modern bio or doc devoted to him casts him in a bad light, as does Norton’s adaptation. This was only the second time I thought a movie was better than the book. The other was One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest (1975), which was a great film, screenplay by Lawrence Haubenm and Bo Goldman, directed by Miloš Forman. Here are Norton and Mbatha-Raw in character:
RIP Fred Willard, 86, always a fun presence on either the big or small screen in a career that spanned five decades. He got his start in Chicago’s renowned Second City sketch comedy troupe. There are 311 titles listed under his name at IMDb, a figure that doesn’t include the multiple appearances he made on popular TV fare. He appeared on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno more than 90 times and was doing bi-weekly appearances on Jimmy Kimmel Live! until recently. He was the co-host of his own talk show in 44 episodes of the satirical Fernwood Tonight. He was nominated for four Primetime Emmy Awards for guest shots on Modern Family and Everybody Loves Raymond. He was married for 50 years until his passing. Here’s a quote attributed to him: “I just admire everybody and sit in awe and watch them.” Likewise, sir. Thank you.
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