Ed Norton's performance in Motherless Brooklyn brings to mind his roles in Primal Fear and The Score. In those films, he portrayed a killer feigning a stutter and a thief pretending to have a mental disability; here, he plays Lionel Essrog, a private investigator living with Tourette’s syndrome. The significant difference lies in the fact that Lionel genuinely experiences Tourette's, unlike the deceptive performances seen previously. In Primal Fear and The Score, there was an act within an act, where characters strategically presented themselves as vulnerable to achieve hidden objectives. Motherless Brooklyn lacks this manipulative element; Lionel’s condition is real, and while Norton delivers a performance that is characteristic of his abilities, it ultimately proves to be a burden—not only for the character but also for the actor, the film itself, and the audience. The story contains enough material for two separate movies, and Norton, who serves as writer, producer, and director, seems to have overlooked the need for editing. Perhaps he should have been as involved in shaping the final cut of the movie as he was with American History X, rather than entrusting that responsibility to Joe Klotz. One film could focus on a man managing Tourette’s alongside his work and relationships. The other, which doesn't require the Tourette's element, would be a murder mystery spanning from Harlem’s jazz clubs to Brooklyn’s impoverished neighborhoods and the homes of the wealthy elite. It might have been better if Norton had concentrated on the first narrative—firstly because his performance achieves an impressive equilibrium between sensitivity and humor; secondly, because Tourette’s isn't the film’s only problem: the plot is a lackluster intrigue about urban renewal and relocation projects – and it’s difficult to view someone in city planning as credible, even with Alec Baldwin in the role, unless they are part of an 80s-era comedy where a group must save a retirement home from demolition to make room for parking. Baldwin isn't alone among the talented actors whose abilities are squandered here. Ethan Suplee, Dallas Roberts, and Leslie Mann appear briefly to advance the plot before vanishing; their characters, particularly Mann’s, could have been replaced with some concise explanations. At least Bruce Willis has the courtesy of dying after initiating the movie’s events. Motherless Brooklyn demonstrates greater ambition than Norton's previous directorial effort, Keeping the Faith. That is a positive aspect. However, the unfortunate reality remains that he excels more as an actor than as a director or screenwriter. While his performance is superb, it doesn't change the fact that his character’s storyline has been made unnecessarily complicated. Ultimately, the film would be neither improved nor harmed by removing the Tourette’s syndrome aspect entirely. This leaves us with a movie that feels too long and only manages to rise above mediocrity during Willem Dafoe’s short appearances. Unlike Norton, Dafoe is capable of portraying mental instability with greater nuance—not through a speech impediment but through his vocal tone, not in his appearance but in the way he observes others. He builds tension gradually until it reaches a peak, and when it does, it's both captivating and frightening. His character is the most fully realized in the film, which is likely more attributable to Dafoe’s skill than Norton’s.

Source on TMDB