‘Norman’ is poignant without seeming solemn
“Norman” is an unquestionably wonderful film braided together from many tones and moods. It offers the qualities of a finely nuanced, funny entertainment with serious moments that are biting without being cruel, poignant without seeming solemn. It has a deceptively throwaway feel, but at its core is a neat nugget of moral philosophy about loyalty.
Norman Oppenheimer is a late-in-life underachiever who will not give up. His business card defines him as a “consultant” who provides “solutions,” but that’s rather wishful, like the man himself. “Schemer” or “conniver” is more accurate.
Somewhere in his 70s, he’s searching for elusive business world prestige, making a modest plug for himself with New York City’s financial elite every chance he gets. But in writer/director Joseph Cedar’s view, the 1 percent move in cunning, competitive chess strategies. Norman is a pawn at best.
Yet, what a vivacious charmer the self-effacing Norman is. He’s played by Richard Gere, who reveals unexpectedly subtle comic talents. His Norman is a warm, good-hearted neurotic, fending and coping with life as best he can. With his white hair in a tangle, skillful kvetching and friendly cajoling, he embodies the film’s hovering influence, Woody Allen.
Gere has always been an impressive technical actor, but never so whimsically likable. Putting aside the brisk, chilly precision he has brought to so many other roles, he regards the character with a mixture of tenderness and satire so deftly balanced that it’s virtuosic.
Because the film cheerfully illuminates some of the immature ways we all act, it is serious but not depressing, reminding us that we laugh often because life is troublesome often and over too quickly.
Seeking approval from the establishment, Norman enters every upscale gathering he can finagle his way into. Generous to a fault, he offers new acquaintances an introduction to power brokers he has never met with the mantra, “I’ll have to get the two of you together.” He also needs the complimentary hors d’oeuvres at those swank galas. We see him sneaking a dinner of pickled herring and Ritz crackers from his synagogue’s break room.
Fate enters the story when he insists on giving a costly gift to a mid-level Israeli politician (outstandingly played by Lior Ashkenazi) who becomes a genuine friend and then a world leader. “For once in my life,” Norman says, “I bet on the right horse.” Suddenly the glamorous, cultured, moneyed New York that Norman wants to enter opens its arms to him.
At the same time, an Israeli prosecutor begins delving into Norman’s way of winning friends and influencing people, which not only might be amoral and unethical but illegal.
Cedar does admirable work, making a comedy that adheres to the rules (or at least the attitude) of good, well-written dramas. He presents the addictive vibe of upper-class entitlement with natural authority and twists cynicism into heartstring-plucking humor.
Norman, who would be a secondary character in most films, makes a fine antihero. We must gradually piece together whether he’s a benefactor reaching out to make true friends or a hustler landing on one steppingstone only long enough to launch himself toward the next. It’s a question that becomes increasingly suspenseful as the focus moves from social embarrassment to international diplomacy.
Cedar, an American whose five previous films were made in Israel, juggles the overlapping New York and Jerusalem story lines, half in English and half in Hebrew, like a pro. He also assembled a solid-gold supporting cast, including Michael Sheen, Steve Buscemi, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Hank Azaria and Josh Charles. But it’s Gere’s palpable affection for consummate schmooze artist Norman that takes the center stage. In a long, strong but not widely varied career, this is his best work to date.