Edward Norton is an actor that is one of a kind due to an unusual reputation for how he believes his art of acting should be. In many of the films he has starred in but not directed, he has some disagreement, conflict, or different belief regarding his approach to movies. With Motherless Brooklyn, he is the lead and the director. If audience members know Norton and his background well, they will be able to tell he is the director of Motherless Brooklyn. That is, in part, because the film has a captivating plot. However, perhaps Norton is trying too hard which led to moments that do not make sense in a movie that is a crime drama. Overall, I enjoyed this movie although it often dragged on.   Still, it is worthy of a viewing with patience.

Motherless Brooklyn is about a private detective, Lionel Essrog (Norton), in New York in the 1950s who suffers from Tourette’s Syndrome. He is a talented, introverted detective who  experiments with drugs to try to help calm his mood along with his disorder. One day, his mentor and one of his only friends, Frank Mina (played by Bruce Willis) is murdered. This puts Lionel on an OCD journey to try to solve Frank’s murder. Lionel starts to come out of his shell in a serious way to try to figure out who Frank had in his life and what might have caused the murder. There is a wealthy business man, Moses Randolph (played by Alec Baldwin), Lionel’s colleagues Tony Vermonte and Gilbert Coney (Bobby Cannavale and Ethan Suplee), and many other faces that may have something to do with Frank’s murder. The struggle with Lionel’s disorder during his investigation is that he can burst out with words that should be kept quiet or words that may raise questions.

The film is attention-grabbing with suspense and solutions that are found, but the ten to twenty-minute conversations in the movie do not make Motherless Brooklyn more enticing. That is because there are elements in those conversations that have nothing to do with the murder of Frank which is an example of Norton trying too hard. Now I know Norton wants his movie to have a purpose, however, it would be best if those long discussions were relevant to what the outcomes to the movie’s conflicts were. I believe Norton is a brilliant actor, but as a director, he still needs some improvement. Admittedly, he did a good job with the scenery and demonstrating how solving murder cases was a much bigger challenge during that time period. However, he just added way too much dialogue in most of the movie.

Overall, Motherless Brooklyn, deserves two and a half stars as it is worthy for its acting. However, it might be boring if people go in without doing research. It is a crime movie that lacks connection to what the central conflict is. Brilliant actors and beautiful scenery, but poor dialogue. Honestly, I am surprised this was the opening for The Chicago International Film Festival.  While I am glad I saw it, I just feel it could have been much better if Norton took more time to work on it.

When it comes to films by Noah Baumbach, he has a niche for making films that are based on his own life and challenging experiences. He did so with The Squid and the Whale (2005), a film that is based on his experience during his youth when his parents divorced. He made the film dark with many moments of tension and numerous backstories to demonstrate the difficult family relationships. Marriage Story gears on divorce as well, however, it has many moments that are touching without being too depressing. That is why I found Marriage Story to be faithful in a heartfelt way despite the sad subject of separation.

Marriage Story focuses on the lives of Nicole and Charlie (Scarlett Johansson and Adam Driver), a married couple with a young son who both work in the entertainment industry and are on the verge of breaking up. However, their goal is to stay together and work as a team, despite all the challenging obstacles. Nicole is a TV actor and wants to remain in California where all her connections that provide her career opportunities for TV are based. Charlie is a theater director in New York that wants to remain around the New York area to be able to direct and write plays. The distance between California and New York poses a challenge for them and their young son as they struggle to figure out how custody or remaining positive is even possible.

Marriage Story is based on the life of Noah Baumbach and his previous relationship with actress Jennifer Jason Leigh. If viewers know the actors or their backgrounds, then Marriage Story will make sense because they can relate to their struggles. In real-life Baumbach and Leigh both have ambitious careers which created challenges. Due to their young son, however, they wanted to make it an amicable process. In the movie, Nicole and Charlie face a big problem with the laws in California and New York.  Charlie is in a bind as he tries to determine which state to be a resident of and where his lawyer should be from. This creates some ugly scenarios for a brief time.

Even though the concept of Marriage Story is sad, it has many positive elements. The film links back to various flashbacks of the good times between Nicole and Adam, and even in the rough times they talk about the qualities they like in each other. There is an instance where a conflict does get out of hand and makes them break out in tears.  Still, it’s not so much because of their resentment of each other, it’s because they come to realize how hard it is to come to an agreement based upon their own choices. The movie is like a landscape of moments which involve happiness, some tension, a twist in judgment, and then an upsetting moment.

Overall, I loved Marriage Story, because it is a film that shows how important it is to be together as a family (even in hard times). This is probably the best of Baumbach, and I look forward to other films by him. This one will be on Netflix, but I believe it to be even better on the big screen.  Some theaters will also be playing it in 35 MM film. Experience the life of Baumbach in this dark, yet uplifting drama. Four stars.

After experiencing Honey Boy at the Chicago International Film Festival, I now have full respect for Shia LaBeouf. In this film, he truly redeems himself in a story based on his own life at a young age. LaBeouf also wrote the movie and plays his own father, a challenging role. This is also a big directorial debut for director Alma Har’el. Honey Boy is deep with emotions, spellbinding, and powerful from the beginning to the end. Honey Boy also helps viewers realize why Shia has had some rough years, based on the film’s representation of the actor’s struggles both at a young age and as he has grown older.

Honey Boy gears on the life of a boy named Otis who is a young child actor. The film starts with Otis at age 22 (played by Lucas Hedges) and goes back to Otis at age 12 (played by Noah Jupe). Immediately, viewers see the life of an actor that is making the big bucks with the movies, but also getting himself into tons of trouble with the law due to drug abuse-related conflicts that he struggles to stop. Then the film transitions to his younger days and his life being a popular child actor with lots going for him but has an abusive father.  James Lort (played by Shia LaBeouf) is jealous, cruel, outspoken, and testy. He has a bad record, cannot get a job, and his source of income is based on Otis’ fame. He is abusive towards his son because he feels his fame can give him a better life without having to do anything. He is also envious because his son has fame and he does not. This is a serious issue LaBeouf suffered throughout his childhood and that is why I believe he plays the role of his own father so realistically.

The movie transitions multiple times between young and old Otis. The older Otis is in treatment for his drug addiction and is in denial about what is going through his mind.  The counselors challenge him to be open and honest about why his mindset is not in a good place. Hedges is deep and thorough with making his emotions speak to his viewers. When the movie transitions to young Otis, it is the time period when Otis is getting famous. Every time he comes home, his father has nasty words to say and turns all the little conversations into opportunities to put Otis down. Eventually Otis’ tension starts to come around and more damage is done. There are moments when Otis’ father asks for another chance and even tells him he promises there will be a change, but it is always the opposite, it’s a lie. I love how the film’s representation demonstrates the reason why Otis struggles as he grows up.  Clearly, it is because he never had the true support parents should give their kids for their individual talents that can get them far in life.

After looking back at the many outbursts and controversial scenarios LaBeouf has had throughout the years, it makes more sense now. He did not have a supporting father, so once he became an adult, he went his own way.  Although he was always very talented, he struggled to show his emotions. However, now LaBeouf appears to be a changed man. I have seen it with The Peanut Butter Falcon this year and I see it again in Honey Boy in which LaBeouf is able to display his many talents. I believe now that he played his own father, he is starting to realize how he can overcome his challenges through his art of acting. Honey Boy soars with moments of despair turning into hope. I loved this movie and I felt quite emotional at moments.  In the end, it lets viewers who are artistic and/or support the arts feel they are not alone. Four stars for Honey Boy.