Film review: 'Norman'

"Norman: The Moderate Rise and Tragic Fall of a New York Fixer" is one of those films that leave you scratching your head. It begins with the purchase of very expensive shoes and ends with buying a bag of fresh peanuts. And everything in between has you wondering if it's real.

Richard Gere (in one of his best performances) plays Norman Oppenheimer, a fixer. In other words, he tries putting successful people together in order to benefit himself, financially. But the payoff can be an uphill battle full of disappointments and desperate measures. As Norman observes to prospective clients, "I'm a good swimmer as long as my head's above water." Usually, he's drowning.

When he sees the opportunity to hook up with an obscure Israeli politician, Micha Eshel (Lior Ashkenazi), Norman buys him a pair of pricey leather shoes, hoping to solidify their relationship. And he succeeds in doing just that. But when Eshel unexpectedly becomes Prime Minister three years later, the dynamic of their friendship is vastly altered. Eshel offers up Norman as a sacrificial lamb during an international scandal. It utterly destroys Norman's reputation and his life.

In director-writer Joseph Cedar's ("Footnote") English speaking debut, we are, at times, confused as to what's playing out on screen. His overuse of a split-screen format can be misinterpreted as Norman's imagination running wild. But Cedar does excel at creatively casting his characters. Michael Sheen as Norman's nephew, Steve Buscemi as a rabbi and Charlotte Gainsbourg as an Israeli embassy official are effortlessly effective in their roles.

But it's Richard Gere's unflinching performance as a doomed dreamer-schemer that elevates this clumsy story to worth watching. His amazing ability to balance endearing with pathetic is simply perfect. He actually manages to make Norman a likable guy, given his numerous flaws. 

It's worth noting that Mr. Gere has risen above being blacklisted by China (the world's second biggest box-office market), given his passionate political affiliation with the people of Tibet. In the five past years, Gere has risen to the top of his game as an actor in smaller films. Aah, Karma.