The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Role of New York fixer fascinated director
“Norman: The Moderate Rise and Tragic Fall of a New York Fixer” is set in the Manhattan business world, and yet it has the flavor of Washington, D.C. The title character, played by Richard Gere, is a grating yet dogged go-between, shuttling from politician to banker to diplomat to religious leader and other muckety-mucks.
It’s the first English-language film from Joseph Cedar, the Israeli-born, U.S.trained director of the 2011 Oscar-nominated comedy “Footnote,” and Cedar says he moved to New York while writing and filming so he could better understand his American milieu.
“I came to New York to work on this film, not knowing what this film would be,” Cedar said during a recent interview while in Washington to promote the movie. “It evolved from the things that I absorbed while I was there.”
The 48-year-old filmmaker, now living in Tel Aviv again, calls “Norman” a character study of a quintessential American type: the sometimes sad but always fascinating middleman who makes a living by bringing people together, even if his methodology isn’t always clear — or ethical. Cedar spoke about why that role fascinates him. “Norman” is partly set in Washington and the world of politics. How familiar are you with that world?
There was one event that I was invited to. It was a research trip for me, but it turned into a key to understanding something about Norman. I came to the National Prayer Breakfast a few years ago, which blew my mind when I learned what it actually is. And what is it?
There’s a spiritual agenda, which brings people from both sides of any political question together around some form of prayer. But it’s also an excuse to get many other people — who are not necessarily there for the prayer — under the same roof with politicians, diplomats, businesspeople who otherwise would have a hard time being in the same room. It’s that kind of situation where someone like Norman flourishes. Where the function of getting the right people to speak about something that both sides have an interest in … creates a need for someone like Norman. On the one hand, it’s a prayer breakfast. On the other, it’s a national convention of Normans.
I suggested “macher.” The word “fixer” came up for the reason you just gave. Anyone who knows that word knows that “fixer” is a substitute, just like “New York” is a substitute for “Jewish.” Is Norman homeless? We never see where he lives, and in one scene, he’s eating herring out of a jar on a Ritz cracker. Yet he wears a nice camelhair coat and carries an iPhone.
I can answer any biographical question about Norman. So then why don’t you, in the film?
Because the people who encounter Norman don’t know those details about him and are afraid to ask. Because he’s forced to lie in almost every encounter and relationship he has. Most people don’t ever want to get close enough to Norman to confront him with his lies and ask for the truth. I know people around me who are like that. I don’t understand exactly how they make a living. They’re alone in the world. I’m pretty sure they’re OK. I’m not positive. I don’t know where they go to at night. They go somewhere. Alex is the one person who asks Norman, who wants to know. And once he realizes that she’s aware of him lying, it creates a closeness he doesn’t have with anyone. What did you do to Richard Gere’s ears?
We’re not going to reveal exactly what we did, but we were looking for something that would change how he looks, without being too intrusive. We changed the way his face is shaped, in some subtle ways. We played around with his hair. It’s very difficult to disguise Richard. There are actors who give themselves to extreme makeup, like Daniel Day Lewis. But there’s something about Richard that anything too aggressive suddenly calls attention to itself. The primary effect of it is how the actor sees himself. There’s something a little goofy about his look in this film. Talk about the political themes of “Norman.” The idea of a secret middleman — someone who sets up meetings and trades favors — is especially timely. Is that an evergreen function of government and business?
I think so. State leaders have a type that makes them vulnerable to certain temptations. Businesspeople have certain desires that are beyond their bottom line, having to do with power. That has always been the way the world is. If people exchange favors, I might as well use it to my advantage. The result of this isn’t always bad. In return for that favor, maybe something good will happen.