One has to Wonder whether Star-Writer-Producer-Director Edward Norton Wondered if it would All End Up this Gigantic when He first Idealized this Behemoth.
The Film is Nothing if Not Grandiose in its Vision...
A Reworking of a "Chinatown" (1974) Story
A Neo-Noir Set in a Noir Era
A Slick and Glossy Patina of Stylish Icons
A Complex Story Unraveling by way of a Tourette Syndrome Gumshoe
and the Beat Goes On for Two and a Half Hours.
Not to say that it is Failure of Fulfillment for the Viewer.
It is Filled with Watchable Admirable Images of a Time when the Dodgers were in Brooklyn (at least for the short term), and NYC was Bursting at the Seams and in Need of Land, Land, Land.
Norton Succeeds in most of what He Aspires in a Daunting Task, Wearing so Many Hats it is a Wonder the Movie is as Good as it is.
But Greatness Eludes the Film-Maker.
It Collapses Under its Own Weight with so Much Going On, and so Many Characters that in The End the Denouement is a Diluted Disappointment.
Getting There is a Tad Confusing and at times a Tad Understated, leaving the Audience a Tad Bewildered by it all and the Wrap-Up Unremarkable.
But the Hubris of Norton's Unbridled Dream is Worth a Watch.
The Film is Nothing if Not Grandiose in its Vision...
A Reworking of a "Chinatown" (1974) Story
A Neo-Noir Set in a Noir Era
A Slick and Glossy Patina of Stylish Icons
A Complex Story Unraveling by way of a Tourette Syndrome Gumshoe
and the Beat Goes On for Two and a Half Hours.
Not to say that it is Failure of Fulfillment for the Viewer.
It is Filled with Watchable Admirable Images of a Time when the Dodgers were in Brooklyn (at least for the short term), and NYC was Bursting at the Seams and in Need of Land, Land, Land.
Norton Succeeds in most of what He Aspires in a Daunting Task, Wearing so Many Hats it is a Wonder the Movie is as Good as it is.
But Greatness Eludes the Film-Maker.
It Collapses Under its Own Weight with so Much Going On, and so Many Characters that in The End the Denouement is a Diluted Disappointment.
Getting There is a Tad Confusing and at times a Tad Understated, leaving the Audience a Tad Bewildered by it all and the Wrap-Up Unremarkable.
But the Hubris of Norton's Unbridled Dream is Worth a Watch.