A Brilliant Conflict

When a movie has you begging for it to end not even half way through it's pure crap. We've all seen this movie and this characters millions of times, nothing new in it. Don't waste your time.

After playing with our expectations, this turns out to be a very different sort of film.

There is, somehow, an interesting story here, as well as some good acting. There are also some good scenes

My wife and I watched this at home on DVD from our public library. It is a good one to view the DVD extras, to learn more about what Gere and the writer/director used for inspiration for the story.The usual definition of a "fixer" is "a person who makes arrangements for other people, especially of an illicit or devious kind." In this movie we never get the sense that Norman (Gere) is trying to be devious but it also is clear that his motivation generally was to make a fee for himself and big money for others as he arranged connections among various businessmen.But as they explain in the "extras" all of us probably know a Norman, someone who always seems to take a great interest in others, even strangers, wanting to help them out in some way. The core of the story here comes when Norman encounters a man looking into a department store window at a display of shoes, Norman encourages him to go in, and literally helps him try on the shoes.The man happens to be a Jewish diplomat from Israel and in a few years becomes Prime Minister, Norman having befriended him is granted favor with the new Prime Minister. What started out as a friendly gesture has become something bordering on criminal activity.To me this is one of Richard Gere's very best roles as Norman Oppenheimer, always seeking to please others and help others, even to find $14Million to allow the Jewish Congregation to buy their building that is otherwise scheduled for demolition. But Norman has a glaring issue, he rarely tells the truth, embellishes everything, sometimes talks a great show without ever delivering.Not your usual movie but I enjoyed it a lot.

Norman Oppenheimer is a small time operator who befriends a young politician at a low point in his life. Three years later, when the politician becomes an influential world leader, Norman's life dramatically changes for better and worse. The Cast of Norman is very talented and the actors try their best but the film is uninteresting and so boring it literally fried my brain. It's one of those awful movies where critics say that it's amazing or something but it's truly slow paced and just boring and it's not interesting from start to finish, the characters are one dimensional. If you're into dumb films that are slow and basically like to loose 2 hours of your life go ahead it's that kind of movie.

Watched two names this evening - "Wilson" & "Norman". Both showed exaggeration, humor & satire to showcase characters. In "Wilson" Harrelson continues to improve these past few years in conveying unique & interesting characters. But, this is about "Norman" & Gere in that role. The first unusual aspect to this largely Jewish supported film is the recognition that Palestinians from an educated, objective & ethical pov deserve the freedom of their own land. Second, that connections and then money determine much more the direction of political actions than is often acknowledged. Third, kudos to the writer/director in bringing us a unique split screen pairing of characters. Smooth, and not disruptive to the flow of the film; captivating way to show communication between characters. Fourth, how our mysterious facilitator meets the youthful future. And, last you know that peanuts could possibly play a role in our closure. As an aside this is one of the rare films out of NY that didn't follow dumb formula (e.g. rom-com) storyline. It was actually funny- intelligent.

This is a film about how an illicit media and obtuse public can take down a good man. Or, it is about how an obtuse man, cannot survive an illicit, capitalistic society, without cheating and lying. Or, it is about how a really good actor, can turn almost any worthless nobody into a hero, for a short time. Or, it is about how good Jews are at making connections, remaining cloistered and being Jewish, and how that can take one a long way. Or, it is about pure, unadulterated misery. How a film that is so dismal, nonsensical, and devoid of all humor and depth, can ever be made. The pivotal scene for me, was when this idiot Norman forces himself on a truly miserable, lesbian shrew, working for the justice department, and freely tells her he gave the brand new Prime Minister of Israel, a super-expensive pair of shoes, to curry favor, and it worked.