An intriguing story which could have made a great film, but unfortunately sabotaged with a poor script which doesn't dramatise the developments enough, and tricksy direction which undermines the authenticity. One can see why Richard Gere went for it, and he gives a convincing portrayal of the central character. He must have been disappointed by the result. Pity.

I really like it. I feel sad about the ending that Norman didn’t get his hardworks behind recognized though. It is a very good movie, has clear message .. It shows the dynamic acting skills by R.G. It grows by the many years of experience he has in the film industry

This is the kind of bottom-feeder person that I despise in real life, and have no interest in learning more about. Hustle the rich to get more, feel clever, &/or build a reputation? bleech...

Gostei muito dessa abordagem diferenciada, apresentada no filme, com Richard Gere em ótima atuação, com seus trejeitos de "velho gaga", quase irreconhecível... Um amigo picareta uma vez me disse, "O importante não é ter conhecimento, é fingir tê-lo, com convicção." O desenvolvimento apesar de lento é muito envolvente, e o desfecho muito interessante... Quando o trambiqueiro bem intencionado se dá bem... Apaixonante...

I thought it was OK overall as it seemed to drag on at times with no clear direction. Great cast for the movie, but the delivery was disappointing.

Here's the thing. One of the reasons the reviews are so mixed on this movie is that it does not conform to any traditional or stereotypical movie telling formula so all the way through you don't know whether you love or hate it. But the movie makers have to be applauded for its unconventionality. It's both a difficult movie to watch and a difficult movie to like. Norman is not likeable and neither is the story, and yet we as viewers are so familiar with the character and the story which maybe accounts for our uncomfortableness watching it. By the end of the movie I thought it was interesting and a bit eerie that this character had a lot in common with Richard Gere's somewhat pathetic character in An Officer and a Gentleman. Maybe there's a bit of Richard Gere in there. He's excellent by the way but the bottom line on the movie is that it's simply difficult to hold a mirror to this pathetic recognizable human quality.

My feeling for the protagonist, Norman as a person, is somewhere between pity and disgust.

I really enjoyed this. Beautifully done. A somewhat uneasy watch but ultimately satisfying, though tragic. I ended up feeling sorry for poor Norman - a very small time operator who entered the big time, by accident, and got his fingers burnt. He wasn't all bad.

I've just now realised that this performance by Gere made me completely forget that his role in Pretty Woman ever happened.How about that.

Richard Gere at his best

Very boring.....This would never happen

the reason of its doom.. Norman Norman is a character driven political drama about a guy who befriends a man from a different native who latter becomes an important servant of the government and their friendship creates a havoc between the countries. Cedar's world in here is too much calculative for it to offer any piece of entertainment or excitement to the audience. As such features; that utterly relies upon a relationship, requires, the chemistry between the lead cast may be impressive but isn't good enough to carry on the feature on it. And even though the makers manipulates viewers to surrender emotionally in its final act, it fails to create the anticipated impact, as the innocence doesn't make it up till the first act. Another primary reason, why it fails so poorly is because of its surreal concept that requires multiple characters and subplots and various sequences and situations in order to move forward. And the makers in order to justify the actions occurring, finds itself setting the circumstances for the most part of the feature. It falls flatly on face in technical aspects like cinematography, background score and camera work. It might be beautifully shot with a cold winter-esque palpable environment but those New York streets certainly aren't appealing in here. Gere has evolved a lot in his portrayal and is supported well enough by Ashkenazi's obvious reserved, Sheen's weaker and Buscemi's stronger portrayal. Cedar is armed with a potential premise which being aware of, he uses it wisely and leaves the room head held high on execution whilst on writing, the audience might still have few questions. Gere's heartbreaking performance and a promising concept are the only two points of the feature that may help one survive this sinking feature. Norman is a self misguided feature whose exploration might be the reason of its doom.

Richard Gere spends most of his screen time on the phone attempting to schmooze his way to relevancy, hoping the cachet of association with wealthy and powerful men will provide his life's purpose. All I wanted to do throughout was hang up and hurl his phone into another dimension.

For a film with the participation of so many Israelis, I was surprised to see the Jewish main character portrayed as such a loser schlemiel. That said, it's an excellent and absorbing film. Again the main problem is that Norman is so unlikeable. The ending is supposed to justify his un-likableness, but it strikes me as too little too late. Steve Buscemi as a rabbi is a definite plus, as I am a Buscemi fan. The current high rating for this film on Rotten Tomatoes is justified.

Fine performances all around with an intelligent and thoughtful script.

Not only a good, though rather unusual, vehicle for Richard Gere, but also a very interesting story, that had a rather good ending. Norman's character, the fast talking, always exaggerating man who doggedly never accepted no to anything and the ultimate hanger-on on the coat tales of other more "important" people than himself, and who excels at self-aggrandizement, finally does something self effacing for others at the end, and, probably for the first time, feels genuine friendship, putting others before himself. A rather charming film that I really enjoyed.

Wtf! How did I miss this gem during nominations? This is an extraordinarily powerful and haunting movie for anyone who can relate. We all know a Norman or have a Norman within us.

I agree with another review that calls this film mildly entertaining, with a good performance by Richard Gere in a role very different from what viewers might associate with him. The notion of a "fixer" puzzles me a bit as portrayed in this movie, however. Norman seems to be more about fixing his own sense of purpose than helping others. He's small-time in every way, trying to enlarge his role and his image mostly for his own gratification as someone who struggles with inferiority and self-doubt. He's constantly pestering people like a used car salesman, and in this way he's more annoying than ennobling in his efforts to be important within the jewish community. I was bothered, too, by endless scenes of Norman walking the streets or stepping into shops, lacking an office of his own, to carry on phone conversations using his ear buds. We should see him at least once or twice in what must be his very humble apartment alone, but we never get that vision of him. His final triumph, such as it is, struck me as sentimental and contrived.

Gere e foarte bun, exploreaza niste spatii sociale si politice interesante

As a critic, it's hard not to get tired of seeing the same kind of movie over and over again. Conventional three-act stories with stock heroes and predictable villains or simple romances with happy endings get tiresome after a while. It's really nice to experience a movie with a different style, even if that movie isn't entirely satisfying. The new movie Norman: The Moderate Rise and Tragic Fall of a New York Fixer is, at the very least, a nice departure from the norm. https://geeks.media/movie-review-norman-the-moderate-rise-and-tragic-fall-of-a-new-york-fixer?_ga=2.267682254.1126457623.1513947710-953607229.1513947710