{"id":5700,"date":"2020-08-12T16:49:00","date_gmt":"2020-08-12T20:49:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/?p=5700"},"modified":"2022-09-05T16:57:55","modified_gmt":"2022-09-05T20:57:55","slug":"motherless-brooklyn-is-a-civics-lesson-wrapped-in-an-actorly-exercise","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/motherless-brooklyn-is-a-civics-lesson-wrapped-in-an-actorly-exercise\/","title":{"rendered":"Motherless Brooklyn is a civics lesson wrapped in an actorly exercise"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

I understand the generally negative reception that Edward Norton’s Motherless Brooklyn<\/em> encountered, but I didn’t dislike it for two very mundane reasons:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1. I happened to watch it in the middle of binging HBO’s Perry Mason<\/em> miniseries (with which it coincidentally happens to have a\u00a0great deal\u00a0in common), and frankly, Motherless Brooklyn<\/em> comes out on top. Perry Mason<\/em>‘s unrelenting dour tone and gruesome violence could have used a dose of Motherless Brooklyn<\/em>‘s lightness and humor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2. I recognized at least one location as being just a few blocks from my apartment. Funny how a few simple props like a vintage phone booth and some old newspapers can zap a Brooklyn street decades into the past.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But yes, Motherless Brooklyn<\/em> is not great in and of itself. Ed Norton’s performance is little more than an actorly exercise, and it’s bewildering how many other characters his character Lionel meets are so patient and understanding of his tics. Alec Baldwin’s growly performance is more The Simpsons<\/em>‘ Mr. Burns than Glengarry Glen Ross<\/a><\/em>. And for a movie about racist civic policies, it’s awkward for it to feature Michael K. Williams as the apparently unnamed “Trumpet Man”, a character dangerously close to magical black person cliche.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I understand the generally negative reception that Edward Norton’s Motherless Brooklyn encountered, but I didn’t dislike it for two very mundane reasons: 1. I happened to watch it in the middle of binging HBO’s Perry Mason miniseries (with which it coincidentally happens to have a\u00a0great deal\u00a0in common), and frankly, Motherless Brooklyn comes out on top. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5701,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[15,2],"tags":[1872,1043,57,1502],"class_list":["post-5700","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-3-stars","category-movies","tag-1872","tag-alec-baldwin","tag-edward-norton","tag-michael-k-williams"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/motherless-brooklyn.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pa9lhB-1tW","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":1849,"url":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/mgmt-live-in-brooklyn-july-1-2009\/","url_meta":{"origin":5700,"position":0},"title":"MGMT live in Brooklyn, July 1, 2009","author":"Chad Ossman","date":"July 6, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"The electronic\/disco\/pop\/rock group MGMT has made a huge splash, earning spots on tours with no less than Paul McCartney and Beck. The wildly catchy \"Time to Pretend,\" \"Electric Feel,\" and \"Kids\" (the latter featuring a truly deranged music video) are not out of keeping with the rest of their repertoire\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "3 Stars"","block_context":{"text":"3 Stars","link":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/category\/ratings\/3-stars\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"MGMT","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/07\/mgmt-stage.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/07\/mgmt-stage.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/07\/mgmt-stage.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/07\/mgmt-stage.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/07\/mgmt-stage.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":125,"url":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/manhattan\/","url_meta":{"origin":5700,"position":1},"title":"Manhattan","author":"Chad Ossman","date":"January 22, 2006","format":false,"excerpt":"Amazingly, upon a second viewing I didn't care for Woody Allen's Manhattan nearly as much as I remembered. Perhaps its status in the canon has retroactively enhanced my opinion. But it still inspires as a big, fat, sloppy kiss to my city, and a poster of Woody & Diane beneath\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "4 Stars"","block_context":{"text":"4 Stars","link":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/category\/ratings\/4-stars\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Manhattan","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2006\/01\/manhattan-1.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2006\/01\/manhattan-1.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2006\/01\/manhattan-1.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2006\/01\/manhattan-1.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2006\/01\/manhattan-1.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":5737,"url":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/taika-waititi-mocks-the-devil-in-jojo-rabbit\/","url_meta":{"origin":5700,"position":2},"title":"Taika Waititi mocks the devil in Jojo Rabbit","author":"Chad Ossman","date":"November 2, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Perhaps unfairly, a couple external factors negatively affected my experience of Jojo Rabbit: The Brooklyn Alamo Drafthouse programmed the trailer for Terrence Malick's forthcoming A Hidden Life before Jojo Rabbit, throwing a spotlight on the \"good German\" trope they both share. Of course, both quiet and loud German resistance to\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "3 Stars"","block_context":{"text":"3 Stars","link":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/category\/ratings\/3-stars\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Jojo Rabbit","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/jojo-rabbit.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/jojo-rabbit.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/jojo-rabbit.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/jojo-rabbit.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/jojo-rabbit.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1797,"url":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/nine-inch-nails-janes-addiction\/","url_meta":{"origin":5700,"position":3},"title":"Nine Inch Nails & Jane’s Addiction live at Jones Beach, June 7, 2009","author":"Chad Ossman","date":"June 13, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"Street Sweeper Social Club Street Sweeper Social Club, the new band formed by Rage Against the Machine guitarist Tom Morello, opened. Their badass cover of M.I.A.'s \"Paper Planes\" was a highlight. Nine Inch Nails It felt wrong somehow to see a band as moody and dark as Nine Inch Nails\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "4 Stars"","block_context":{"text":"4 Stars","link":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/category\/ratings\/4-stars\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Jane's Addiction","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/06\/janes-addiction-jones-beach.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/06\/janes-addiction-jones-beach.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/06\/janes-addiction-jones-beach.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/06\/janes-addiction-jones-beach.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/06\/janes-addiction-jones-beach.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":721,"url":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/blue-man-group-the-complex-rock-tour-live\/","url_meta":{"origin":5700,"position":4},"title":"Blue Man Group: The Complex Rock Tour Live","author":"Chad Ossman","date":"March 23, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"This blogger may have to burn his Rock Snob card, for I just watched and enjoyed the Blue Man Group concert film The Complex Rock Tour Live. I'd long assumed that the Blue Man Group's seemingly permanent residency on Lafayette Street in downtown Manhattan was some kind of tourist trap\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "3 Stars"","block_context":{"text":"3 Stars","link":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/category\/ratings\/3-stars\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Blue Man Group Complex Rock","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/03\/blue-man-group-complex-rock.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/03\/blue-man-group-complex-rock.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/03\/blue-man-group-complex-rock.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/03\/blue-man-group-complex-rock.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/03\/blue-man-group-complex-rock.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":6662,"url":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/lou-reed-and-john-cale-work-through-their-complex-feelings-for-andy-warhol-in-songs-for-drella\/","url_meta":{"origin":5700,"position":5},"title":"Lou Reed and John Cale work through their complex feelings for Andy Warhol in Songs for Drella","author":"Chad Ossman","date":"October 22, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Rather than set aside their differences, Reed and Cale meld them together in a theatrical song cycle dedicated to their early patron.","rel":"","context":"In "4 Stars"","block_context":{"text":"4 Stars","link":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/category\/ratings\/4-stars\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"John Cale and Lou Reed Songs for Drella","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/songs-for-drella-blue.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/songs-for-drella-blue.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/songs-for-drella-blue.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/songs-for-drella-blue.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/songs-for-drella-blue.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5700","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5700"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5700\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5702,"href":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5700\/revisions\/5702"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5701"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5700"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5700"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5700"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}