It’s been almost 20 years since actor Edward Norton stepped behind the camera for his directorial debut, “Keeping the Faith.” Since then, he’s gone on to continue his great acting roles (even popping up in a Marvel movie), but has yet to flex those directing muscles again. However, that’s going to change this fall with the upcoming film “Motherless Brooklyn.” And if you’re lucky enough to be attending this year’s New York Film Festival, Norton’s latest film has been selected as the prestigious event’s closing film.
The NYFF has just announced that “Motherless Brooklyn” will close out the fall film festival, with a screening in October. “Motherless Brooklyn” is written and directed by Norton, based on the Jonathan Lethem novel of the same name. The film tells the story of a private detective with Tourette syndrome (Norton), in 1950s Brooklyn, that unwittingly finds himself in a vast conspiracy that crosses into social issues such as the racial divide of that era and puts him in the crosshairs of a builder, played by Alec Baldwin.
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The film features an all-star cast starring opposite Norton and Baldwin, including Bruce Willis, Willem Dafoe, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Bobby Cannavale, Leslie Mann, and Cherry Jones. “Motherless Brooklyn” will also feature a score by Daniel Pemberton, who is probably best known, recently at least, for his work on the Oscar-winning film, “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse.” The soundtrack will also feature a new track from musician Thom Yorke, who wrote a ballad specifically for the film, which drove Norton to tears.
As mentioned, “Motherless Brooklyn” will close out the New York Film Festival on October 11. However, if you’re not able to make the screening, then the film will be released by Warner Bros. later this year, as it’s surely going to be in the awards conversation.
Here’s the synopsis:
Edward Norton wrote, directed, produced and stars in this 1950s-set crime drama, about a private detective living with Tourette syndrome who ventures to solve the murder of his mentor and best friend — a mystery that carries him from the gin-soaked jazz clubs of Harlem to the slums of Brooklyn to the gilded halls of New York’s power brokers.