Richard Gere triumphant as huckster in ‘Norman’
“Norman” takes a largely unlikable character and inserts him into the center of its story, a gambit that seems like a surefire recipe for disaster.
It’s not, thanks to Richard Gere. He’s outstanding in Joseph Cedar’s oddly compelling film, subtitled “The Moderate Rise and Tragic Fall of a New York Fixer.” That’s about the size of it, but Cedar creates a lot of interesting diversions along the way.
Norman Oppenheimer (Gere), roaming Manhattan in his camelhair overcoat and driving cap, chatting non-stop on his iPhone, fancies himself a businessman, a consultant of sorts. He knows anyone and everyone, but not really. Nevertheless, he’d be glad to get you in a room with them. Spend 30 seconds with Norman and you know what he really is: a huckster, a wheeler-dealer, about a half-step short of a con man.
But he’s not trying to rip anyone off. He is, in his painfully obvious and pathetic way, trying to belong, trying to be important. And in a turn of events that surprises even him, for one brief, shin-
ing moment, he sort of is.
He befriends Micha Eshel (Lior Ashkenazi), an Israeli politician visiting New York who has a lot of big ideas that don’t necessarily jibe with the powers that be. Norman buys him a $1,200 pair of shoes, a steep price he can’t afford but one he’s hoping pays off in entrée into this world.
Years later, Eshel is Israel’s prime minister. When Norman shows up in a long receiving line, Eshel remembers him, embraces him, calls him friend. Norman is stunned. He’s not sure what to do with his good fortune.
Long lists of favors are called in by the New York Jewish community, to whom Norman has promised so much for so long. But Eshel’s inner circle, particularly Duby (Yehuda Almagor), his chief of staff, doesn’t trust Norman, and sees him for the small-time operator he’s always been — or, more accurately, has aspired to be.
Cedar goes a little broad with the story in the last act, but he’s never let down by the performances. Michael Sheen is reliably good as Norman’s nephew, a lawyer who loves his uncle but is not blind to his schemes. That’s the thing — no one is. Norman’s promises are ridiculous on their face. Your first instinct is to be embarrassed for him, but he is unbowed by failure — lots of practice — and never lets his disappointment show. No deal truly falls through. It may still happen. Maybe. Just let Norman make a couple of calls.
Charlotte Gainsbourg is also good as an investigator of sorts, as is Hank Azaria as a disheveled version of Norman, trying to hustle the hustler. And Steve Buscemi as a rabbi is as interesting and twisted as that sounds.
Everyone, however, takes a backseat to Gere. The work he does here, small moments you can’t miss because of the confidence and skill he brings to them, is remarkable. There is no reason anyone should like Norman — in the wrong hands you’d walk out of the theater five minutes after the movie started.
But Cedar and Gere make Norman someone you root for, after a fashion. Mostly you hope that he gets at least some measure of what he’s looking for, even if you know that it may not be the best thing for him. How all that plays out is less interesting than how Gere navigates his journey — and that’s interesting, indeed.