Jonathan Lethem's novel about a private eye with Tourette's syndrome, "Motherless Brooklyn," starts with a brilliant burst of uncontrolled profanity and an explanation of its protagonist's condition.
"Words rush out of the cornucopia of my brain to course over the surface of the world, tickling reality like fingers on piano keys. Caressing, nudging. They're an invisible army on a peacekeeping mission, a peaceable horde. They mean no harm."
Lethem lets loose a riot of language across the subsequent pages, remaking a classic detective story with an uncontrollable flow of words. In his intelligent, engrossing and derivative adaptation of "Motherless Brooklyn," Edward Norton has something tidier in mind.
This image released by Warner Bros. shows Edward Norton in a scene from "Motherless Brooklyn." (Glen WilsonWarner Bros. Pictures via AP)
Norton, who wrote, directed, produced and stars in the film, has shifted the story from the '90s to the '50s, taking a then-contemporary twist on an old genre and sending it back to its late-noir heyday, along with all the period-appropriate trench coats, automobiles and venetian blinds. Norton first sought out the book more than 20 years ago — this is a longtime "passion project" finally come to fruition — and it's clear that he wanted to enlarge the story's ambitions. He's after a "Chinatown" for New York.
Lionel Essrog (Norton) is private dick whose mentor Frank Minna (Bruce Willis, whose infrequent appearance in movies of late has only heightened his powerful presence), adopted Lionel and raised him in his private investigator business. When Minna is killed in the film's opening scenes, Essrog throws himself into discovering the murderers, whipping up his fellow detectives — Tony (Bobby Cannavale), Gilbert (Ethan Suplee) and Danny (Dallas Roberts) — to join in the search.
Essrog, at times donning the guise of a reporter, follows a trail of clues that leads him across the metropolis and into a broad city hall conspiracy that rises to the penthouse-heights of New York power. Along the way are trips through a not-yet-razed Penn Station, a handsome Washington Square Park and a pivotal Harlem jazz club (where Michael K. Williams plays a trumpet player). He befriends a black attorney, Laura Ross (Gugu Mbatha-Raw), who helps him realize the full scope of the corruption revolving around "slum clearance" policies of redevelopment, and how Minna figures into it.
This image released by Warner Bros. shows Gugu Mbatha-Raw, left, and Edward Norton in a scene from "Motherless Brooklyn." (Glen WilsonWarner Bros. Pictures via AP)
Norton is leading Essrog into foundational midcentury New York history. Just as Jake Gittes unwittingly uncovered the water supply sins on which Los Angeles was built in "Chinatown," ''Motherless Brooklyn" winds its way through the neighborhood-destroying freeway laying of Robert Moses' New York. "Motherless Brooklyn" is more indebted, ultimately, to Robert Caro's "The Power Broker" than Lethem's novel.
The Robert Moses doppelganger here is named Moses Randolph and played with perfection by Alec Baldwin, who's making something of a habit of playing New York's real-estate villains. In one fine moment with a large map of New York behind him, he insists that he's not above the law, "I'm ahead of it."
To some, this well-known history (there is also a Jane Jacobs-like figure protesting Randolph's brute-force policies) is too familiar to be particularly intriguing. It's a little like a gumshoe wandering into a text book. But not everyone is deeply versed in Moses' overwhelming imprint on New York City. And what makes "Motherless Brooklyn" respectable and even novel is this grafting of social history onto a genre tale. It's not exactly commonplace in today's movies to be taken down a rabbit hole about urban development. It's a laudable impulse, and Norton's film provides a welcome reminder of what we've been missing.
This image released by Warner Bros. shows Alec Baldwin, left, and Edward Norton in a scene from "Motherless Brooklyn." (Glen WilsonWarner Bros. Pictures via AP)
There's certainly more to be gained from that side of "Motherless Brooklyn" than the showcase of Norton's performance. The actor, who famously played a stuttering schizophrenic in "Primal Fear," largely pulls it off with a full diet of tics, mannerisms, jerks and blurts. "It makes me say funny things, but I'm not trying to be funny," Essrog, nicknamed "Freakshow," tells someone. But the performance never feels like much more than an acting challenge.
Norton, who last directed the 2000 romantic comedy "Keeping the Faith," has made a resolutely sturdy movie, filled with excellent actors (Willem Dafoe is also in the mix) and composed — Dick Pope ("Mr. Turner") supplies the slick and shadowy cinematography — with a vivid feel for New York. "Motherless Brooklyn" is done well enough that you wish it had struck out on its own path, rather than crib from Robert Towne and Roman Polanski. It's hard to forget it, but that's "Chinatown."
"Motherless Brooklyn," a Warner Bros. release, is rated R by the Motion Picture Association of America for language throughout including some sexual references, brief drug use, and violence. Running time: 144 minutes. Two and a half stars out of four.
Follow AP Film Writer Jake Coyle on Twitter at: http://twitter.com/jakecoyleAP
The Golden Globes bill themselves as Hollywood’s booziest bash. This year, is anyone ready to party?
Political tension and industrywide uncertainty are the prevailing moods heading into Sunday night's 83rd Golden Globes. Hollywood is coming off a disappointing box-office year and now anxiously awaits the fate of one of its most storied studios, Warner Bros.
A celebratory mood might be even more elusive given that the wide majority of the performers and filmmakers congregating at the Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills, California, oppose the policies of President Donald Trump. Likely to be on the minds of many attendees: the recent U.S. involvement in Venezuela and the fatal shooting of 37-year-old mother Renee Good in Minneapolis by Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
But through their ups and downs, the Globes have always tried to put pomp over politics. Host Nikki Glaser has vowed as much.
“You’d be surprised that half the room had no clue why I was saying ‘Venezuela,’” Glaser told The Associated Press earlier in the week, referring to her comedy-club warm-ups. “People aren’t getting the news like we all are.”
Glaser, a comic known for her roast appearances, has promised to go after A-listers in her second time hosting.
“We’re going to hit Leo,” Glaser said. “The icebergs are coming.”
Here’s what to look for at this year’s Globes:
The Golden Globes kick off at 8 p.m. EST on CBS while streaming live for Paramount+ premium subscribers. E!’s red carpet coverage begins at 6 p.m. EST.
The Associated Press will be have a livestream show beginning at 4:30 p.m. Eastern with a mix of stars' arrivals, fashion shots and celebrity interviews. It will be available on YouTube and APNews.
The overwhelming Oscar favorite “One Battle After Another” comes in with a leading nine nominations. It’s competing in the Globes’ musical or comedy category, which means the drama side might be more competitive. There, Ryan Coogler’s “Sinners,” Chloé Zhao’s “Hamnet” and Joachim Trier’s “Sentimental Value” are all in the mix.
But thus far, “One Battle After Another” has cleaned up just about everywhere. Much of Paul Thomas Anderson’s cast is nominated, including DiCaprio, Teyana Taylor, Sean Penn, Chase Infiniti and Benicio Del Toro.
If it and “Sinners” take home the two biggest prizes, it will be a banner night for Warner Bros. even as its future hangs in the balance. The studio has agreed to be acquired by Netflix is a deal worth $82.7 billion. Movie theaters have warned such a result would be “a direct and irreversible negative impact on movie theaters around the world.”
The merger awaits regulatory approval, while Paramount Skydance is still trying to convince Warner shareholders to accept its rival offer.
After an audacious promotional tour for “Marty Supreme,” Timothée Chalamet is poised to win his first Globe in five nominations. In best actor, comedy or musical, he’ll have to beat DiCaprio, a three-time Globe winner, and Ethan Hawke (“Blue Moon”).
In best actress, comedy or musical, Rose Byrne is the favorite for her performance in the not especially funny A24 indie “If I Had Legs I’d Kick You.” One prominent nominee in the category, Cynthia Erivo (“Wicked: For Good”), won’t be attending due to her schedule in the West End production “Dracula.”
Jessie Buckley (“Hamnet”) is the clear front-runner in best actress, drama. In the star-studded best actor, drama, category, the Brazilian actor Wagner Moura (“The Secret Agent”) may win over Michael B. Jordan (“Sinners”) and Joel Edgerton (“Train Dreams”).
In the supporting categories, Teyana Taylor and Stellan Skarsgård come in the favorites.
The Globes, formerly presented by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, have no overlap or direct correlation with the Academy Awards. After being sold in 2023 to Todd Boehly’s Eldridge Industries and Dick Clark Productions, a part of Penske Media, the Globes are voted on by around 400 people. The Oscars are voted on by more than 10,500 professionals.
But in the fluctuating undulations of awards season, a good speech at the Globes can really boost an Oscar campaign. Last year, that seemed to be the case for Demi Moore, who won for “The Substance” and gave the night's most emotional speech. Mikey Madison (“Anora”), however, scored the upset win at the Oscars.
A few potentially good moments this year went instead in a Golden Eve ceremony earlier this week. There, the Cecil B. DeMille and Carol Burnett honorees, Helen Mirren and Sarah Jessica Parker, accepted their awards.
One to watch, if he wins, will be the Iranian director Jafar Panahi. His revenge drama “It Was Just an Accident” is up for four awards. Panahi has spent most of his career making films clandestinely, without approval of authorities, and was until recently banned from leaving the country. Last month, he was sentenced to a year in prison, which would be only his latest stint behind bars if Panahi returns home to serve it. This week, protests over Iran’s ailing economy have spread throughout the country in a new test to Iran's leaders.
For the first time, the Globes are trotting out a new podcast category. The nominees are: “Armchair Expert,” “Call Her Daddy,” “Good Hang With Amy Poehler,” “The Mel Robbins Podcast,” “SmartLess” and “Up First.”
In TV, HBO Max’s “The White Lotus” — another potential big winner for Warner Bros. — leads with six nominations. Netflix’s “Adolescence” comes in with five nods.
But the most closely watched nominee might be “The Studio.” The first season of Seth Rogen’s Hollywood satire memorably included an episode devoted to drama around a night at the Globes. (Sample line: “I remember when the red carpet of the Golden Globes actually stood for something.”) “The Studio” is up for three awards, giving three chances for life to imitate art.
For more coverage of this year’s Golden Globe Awards, visit: https://apnews.com/hub/golden-globe-awards
Tessa Thompson arrives at the Golden Globes Golden Eve on Tuesday, Jan. 6, 2026, at The Beverly Hilton Hotel, in Beverly Hills, Calif. (Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP)
Nikki Glaser rolls out the red carpet during the 83rd Golden Globes press preview on Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026, at the Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills, Calif. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)
