60
Metascore
36 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 85TheWrapSasha StoneTheWrapSasha StoneAs Motherless Brooklyn reaches back in time to explore racism and New York City’s history, it also brings us urgently back to right now — how we look at politics and leadership, what offenses we’re willing to accept, what ideals are still worth fighting for.
- 83Original-CinJim SlotekOriginal-CinJim SlotekMotherless Brooklyn is the sort of risk-taking effort that deserves kudos whether it works or not. As it happens, this lengthy film-noir labour of love by writer, director and star Edward Norton, is well worth the ride.
- 75Entertainment WeeklyLeah GreenblattEntertainment WeeklyLeah GreenblattIf it all sometimes feels trapped in the amber of his intentions, Brooklyn still casts a quiet sort of spell: a meticulously, lovingly made mood piece, full of empathy for the ones who can’t speak — at least not always the way they want to — for themselves.
- 75The A.V. ClubJesse HassengerThe A.V. ClubJesse HassengerThis passion project also lets Norton indulge in the kind of tic-heavy acting challenge he embraced early in his career.
- 70VarietyPeter DebrugeVarietyPeter DebrugeLionel’s mannerisms could have gotten obnoxious in a hurry, but Norton calibrates the performance so that the character remains unpredictable without becoming unbearable.
- 67IndieWireEric KohnIndieWireEric KohnDespite some pacing troubles and myriad undeveloped characters, Motherless Brooklyn functions well enough as a throwback to the intelligent, atmospheric studio private investigator dramas to which it tips a velvety fedora, and shows evidence that this dormant genre still has legs.
- 60The GuardianPeter BradshawThe GuardianPeter BradshawIt’s a heavy meal to digest, but this is a strong, vehement film with a real sense of time and place.
- 50The Hollywood ReporterTodd McCarthyThe Hollywood ReporterTodd McCarthyUltimately, frustration and fatigue prevail over the film’s intellectual acuity and political insight; neither is any true emotion ever forthcoming. This is odd and disappointing.
- 42The Film StageThe Film StageFew films come out in any given year with creative choices as baffling as the ones made by Edward Norton’s Motherless Brooklyn.
- 38Slant MagazineJake ColeSlant MagazineJake ColeMotherless Brooklyn feels altogether too tidy, a film that revives many of the touchstones of noir, but never that throbbing unease that courses through the classics of the genre.