It occurred to me that Edward Norton is perhaps the most over-valued “artist” in Hollywood. The man is 54-years old and viewed as one of the top actors of his age but is he really?
If you look at all the movies which built his reputation you’ll see that he was never really the star. For example in Rounders he coasts off the talent of Matt Damon and is so unlikable we assume its acting. In Fight Club the real stars are Brad Pitt and the writing of Chuck Palanhnuk. In Primal Fear the real star is Richard Gere.
In the movies where Edward Norton was hired to be the star and to carry a film - it has been a flop. Take for example the disasterous The Incredible Hulk. The man not only starred in but single-handedly caused the most disasterous Marvel Cinematic Universe movie - almost single handedly.
Don’t believe me? How about the handpicked The Painted Veil. This was a Somerset Maugham work that was chosen specifically by Edward Norton. Not only did he star in the movie but he was also a producer. For a good laugh check out his choices as producer. Guessing all of them were nominated for Razzies.
Which brings me to the reason for writing this “appreciation” - Motherless Brooklyn. I heard Norton on a podcast describing his career, his method and his newest Motherless Brooklyn and I was intrigued enough to put the book/movie on my list. Eventually I bought the book and was greatly disappointed. It was set in the 1980’s and New York’s Robert Moses (the basis for Moses Randolph) had nothing to do with it. I read only the first 50 pages of the book - hoping it would get better and hoping to get some glimmer of a character that would remind me of Edward Norton. It never happened.
The movie Motherless Brooklyn came and went so fast I can only assume it was a flop.
Of course your appreciate and reaction to Edward Norton may differ but for me I’m done being scammed. If they made a documentary about the man they should call it The Hollywood Con Job because to me that’s what his entire career has been.
I just thought it was a glaring omission. TBD - I've only watched part of it.
How about American History X?