Norman (2016)

Norman: Directed by Joseph Cedar. With Richard Gere, Lior Ashkenazi, Michael Sheen, Steve Buscemi. Norman Oppenheimer is a small time operator who befriends a young politician at a low point in his life. Three years later, when the politician becomes an influential world leader, Norman’s life dramatically changes for better and worse.

“Full title of this Joseph Cedar movie is Norman: The Moderate Rise and Tragic Fall of a New York Fixer. Norman the person is not very likable. He stands too close when he talks to you, heu0026#39;s relentless in searching for an angle, heu0026#39;s quick with the half-to-full-lie. But in Richard Gereu0026#39;s nuanced portrayal, initial discomfort turns to something more like sympathy. How heu0026#39;s treated by the people who see him for what he is becomes simultaneously justified and painful. The sympathy is possible because Norman isnu0026#39;t angling to benefit himself, at least not financially. He only wants to feel important, that he matters in the world, yet he remains u0026quot;always just a few capillaries removed from the beating heart of power,u0026quot; says A.O. Scott in the New York Times. When he has a setback, and he has plenty of them, you see the gears turning until he hits a way to make the best of it. When Norman u0026quot;bumps intou0026quot; an Israeli diplomat and does him a favor, right there you know the seeds of calamity are planted. I wonu0026#39;t say more about the plot, which is complicated in the delicious way that only someone like Norman could complicate it. Israeli actor Lior Ashkenazi plays the diplomat; Michael Sheen plays Normanu0026#39;s put-upon nephew; Steve Buscemi as the rabbi of a financially distressed congregation is u0026quot;a marvel of wit and off-kilter humanity,u0026quot; Scott says; and Manhattan plays itself, beautifully.”