Richard Gere never was a great star to the use of Hollywood, which surely caused that throughout its race also does not have so many emblematic tapes to be remembered. In fact, we must go back to 'Chicago' to find the latest blockbuster in which he participated, but since then has not stopped working and we have seen in titles like 'The Hoax' ( 'The Hoax'), 'Always Your side-Hachiko- ' (' Hachi: A Dog's Tale ') or ' The Arbitrage '.
Now returns to our cinemas with 'Norman, the man who got everything ', the fifth feature - but first performed in the United States - of Joseph Cedar , responsible, Among others, of 'Footer' ('Hearat Shulayim'). Here he tells the story of a very charming trickster, giving us the best interpretation so far of Gere in a stimulating film but does not finish finishing the job.
With clear ideas
One of the first aspects that draw the attention of 'Norman, the man who got everything' is that it is an original story, since the script of Cedar himself seems at all times the adaptation of a play or a novel , Both in terms of structure and when creating the dialogues that recite the characters. In addition, it also sets the pace of the story, something that may not please some viewers, who may want something more dynamic.
For my part, I think Cedar manages to print the film the cadence necessary for the story to flow in the right direction. In the end, the protagonist is a truth catcher , someone who has to know how to keep too many people happy so that their plans go forward. For this reason, an old Jewish fable is used, transferred to the present through the important thing to be well connected and the difficulties to achieve it.
All this could have led to a story full of cynicism in which its protagonist was always on the verge of literally falling, but that is not what interests Cedar. In fact, Norman does not stop being a loser without much luck in the life that for once it bets by the winning horse and has to adapt to the situation as well can.
That gives Gere a lot of room to offer a well-nuanced performance in which he sometimes has to pull charisma and others play with his delicate situation through his talent as an actor . It is true that he is surrounded by a cast full of familiar faces and would normally attract me more than its protagonist, but here they are all part of a gear in the service of both Norman and the story itself that the actor levels wonderfully, even when the Script does not hit the target at that point.
'Norman, the man who got it all' less finishing the job
The big but is that Cedar does not give the appropriate tonal consistency for the film , usually opting for a more realistic style than he always ignores it considers necessary to reach the point of arrival. This is another of the less stimulating aspects, and is that is constructed a complex story, perhaps in excess, to go from one point to another, smelling at all times what will eventually happen. If even the original title makes it clear.
That's when there comes a point where 'Norman, the man who got everything' does not do anything really bad - maybe what commented on complicating everything more than the account without real need, but it does lose bellows , giving the feeling of Be stretching everything a little more than the count.
The thing never goes down because of its solid distribution - although Gere shines above the rest - and by the effective staging of Cedar, who also demonstrates an estimable visual inventiveness in certain scenes, not falling also in the error of saturating by that Via . In fact, every moment in which you deviate from a traditional staging treatment has a motive, either to tell you something regardless of the dialogues or to highlight the situation of the characters.
What we have left at the end is a convincing film with an inspired cast that stands out above all the impeccable work of its protagonist. In addition, a director with clear ideas and able to highlight the appropriate aspects of his script , but also showing a tendency to complicate himself more than necessary when we all smell what it is what it seeks to achieve and how to do it. This prevents it being the very good movie that would have corrected that weak point.
In short, 'Norman, the man who got everything' is an entertaining proposal with several virtues beyond the phenomenal work of Richard Gere, but which is missing the cherry to go a step further and be a movie that goes more Beyond being well . In my opinion, the key was to lighten the story a little and avoid those changes of tone that do not prevent everything in place, but it does raise doubts about how to do it.