Tropic Sprockets / Norman

By Ian Brockway

If there is a current equivalent to Franz Kafka in the cinema, director Joseph Ceder is it, especially in his new film entitled “Norman” starring Richard Gere. In 2011, Cedar directed the deeply existential and darkly comic film “Footnote,” and here again he never misses a beat. This latest film is as savage and funny as it is human.

Norman (Gere) is a hustler of ideas. He has a compulsive idea to get in touch with Eshel (Lior Ashkenazi) a seasoned Israeli politician. Norman has no luck. He chases down an assistant Kavish (Dan Stevens) but to no avail.

But then Norman loiters in front of a luxury clothing store and sees his man fascinated by a pair of gold toned shoes. Norman strikes up a conversation.  The politician, feeling a bit cornered but not quite knowing how to handle Norman’s persistence, goes into the store. Norman follows him in, name dropping and telling ingratiating anecdotes. Eshel makes for the exit, but Norman insists on buying a pair of shoes as a gift to Eshel.

A flabbergasted Eshel finally parts from Norman, but not before half-heartedly agreeing to go to a party. Norman is elated. This is the break that he has been waiting for. Perhaps his future is secure. He enters the party. Eshel is not present and the host refuses Norman admission. Norman, undaunted, takes refuge in a synagogue where he continues to make calls on his iPhone.

In a story that is part Kafka and part Dostoevsky with a trace of Patricia Highsmith, Richard Gere is wonderful as an Everyman ‘Walter Mitty’ who yearns for the top, or failing that, wishes to be noticed or highly regarded.

Gentile actor Steve Buscemi appears as a rabbi and plays it semi-straight as does Michael Sheen as Norman’s nephew. The hypnotic Charlotte Gainsbourg turns in yet another compelling performance, this time as an investigator.

In addition to the aforementioned existential influences, the film also bears a resemblance to Hal Ashby’s “Being There” in tone and pacing. Just by the chance gift of a single pair of expensive shoes, Norman Oppenheimer finds himself on the fringes of Israeli politics.

Although this is very much a madcap farce at times, it excellently describes the circular mania of the New York business world, laced with a frenzied babble that only Samuel Beckett could understand. Case in point are the fragmentary subtitles in English which only give an impression of what is being said regarding politics.

Moreover on a human level, the narrative expresses heart and verve. Oppenheimer is no cardboard archetype, but rather a man of coursing blood, of sadness and spirit. This performance is one of Richard Gere’s very best.

It is no exaggeration to say that “Norman” has the depth and richness of a masterful short story. The far reaching, yet entertaining, plot will tease at every turn while the denouement never undermines the feeling of an open mystery.

Write Ian at [email protected]

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