Metacritic reviews

It can take a TV series an entire season to establish a political intrigue as elaborate as the one Cedar devises here — and even longer to flesh out such a fascinating protagonist, when all Cedar had to do was give this archetype a name.

Cedar impressively creates a complex and intricately detailed portrait of the web of political, financial, social and religious affiliations that has everything to do with how the world works.

A spellbinder that features Richard Gere in one of his best performances ever.

Cedar’s smart dialogue and direction lift Norman: The Moderate Rise and Tragic Fall of a New York Fixer (hereby just referred to as ‘Norman’) above expectations.

What’s best about the film is how Cedar and Gere have dreamed up a character who’s equally desperate and preternaturally ingratiating.

Delving into the intricacies of friendships, the way a lie can spiral out of control and the dangers of mixing politics and business, Norman: The Moderate Rise And Tragic Fall Of A New York Fixer is a compellingly complex and playful take on the political thriller.

Writer-director Joseph Cedar charts Norman's rise-and-fall arc with the attention to detail of a procedural.

In a sense, what we’re watching is a classic con-artist movie, built around someone who plies his shady trade not for money but esteem—the feeling that he matters, that his name carries weight.

Gere’s commitment to the role almost makes up for the film’s flaws.

The film arrives at its last shot with a sense of purpose, but Cedar’s clumsy plotting and uncharacteristically sterile compositions suggest that he’s charted the least enjoyable route to the film’s satisfying finale.