Ed Norton-Aaron Stampler to The Hulk
When Ed Norton took on the role of Bruce Banner, who becomes the Incredible Hulk, in effect he was essaying a superhero, whose main characteristic has been a defining point of his career. A man within another man, or what we call as split personality. Be it Aaron Stampler in Primal Fear or the nameless narrator in Fight Club, Norton seems to excel in roles where a person is split between two identities. Even in a dramatic movie like American History X, Norton had 2 phases, one of a racist Neo Nazi skinhead, and the other as the repentant convict, trying to stop his brother from becomming what he was. Most of his career, has seen Norton playing the role of troubled conflicted individuals.
But then considering Norton’s first major role was of a conflicted individual, i guess that set the tone for his career. Primal Fear in 1996, was what made pe
ople sit up and take notice of Norton. As Aaron Stampler a young, nervous altar boy, on trial for the murder of the archbishop, Norton was just brilliant. Especially in that particular scene, where Aaron Stampler assumes the persona of his alter ego Roy. Till then we see him nervous, stammering, protesting his innocence, and then he makes a switch to Roy. That bit when he makes that switch is absolutely effortless, natural, that for a moment, he just left me stunned. And his expressions when he is Roy, his way of dialog delivery, his cocky demenaor, when interacting with Richard Gere, fantastic. This scene made me a big time fan of Norton, and from then, never lost a chance to see his movies. Norton followed it up with supporting acts in The People vs Larry Flynt as Flynt’s attorney Alan Isaacman, and later one of the star cast in Woody Allen’s musical Everyone Says I Love You.
In 1998, Norton came in Rounders, along with Matt Damon, with both of them playing Poker players, in a noirish thriller, quite an under appreciated movie i felt. And then came Norton’s tour de Force as Derek Vinyard a racist ex Neo Nazi, in American History X. One of the best movies dealing with the prickly issue of racism in America, Norton plays the role of Derek, a suburban resident, who is influenced by his father’s racist views. When his Dad is killed during a shoo
ting by Black youths, he becomes totally racist, blaming Blacks and Latinos, for the increase in crime rate. He joins a Neo Nazi group, and is later arrested by the cops for his murder of a Black person. However his encounters with a white supremacist group in prison, and also another Black prisoner, make him question his actions, and he slowly turns repentant. However he learns to his horror, that his younger brother Danny, who has grown up idolizing him, has now become a skin head.
American History X, was a very insightful look at racism in US society, and the faultlines it operates. Derek is imbibed with a racism, from his father, and his father’s murder only adds to his distrust. Ed Norton brilliantly captures the transition from a young impressionable suburban youth, to a totally cruel, merciless racist who hates Non Whites to a repentant person who learns from his experiences in prison and finally a person who needs to prevent his younger brother from following the same destructive path he had. Be it the scene where Derek finally realizes the folly of his ways in prison or the scene where he confronts his younger brother, or the final death scene, Ed Norton is just brilliant. He makes you empathize with his character, you feel for him, and when finally he falls, you feel a sense of sorrow.
Norton followed up American History X, with another cult classic Fight Club, where he teamed up with Brad Pitt. As the nameless narrator, who becomes tangled in a messy relationship with Tyler Durden( Brad Pitt) and a destitute woman Marla( Helena Bonham Carter), Norton holds his own against Pitt. Basically the movie was a black comedy against the hold of advertising on common people. As Norton said “I feel that Fight Club really, in a way… probed into the despair and paralysis that people feel in the face of having inherited this value system out of advertising.”
The impact of Fight Club went way beyond commercial success. The movie actually caused men to think over what they were in a society, their role. Like Shawshank Redemption, it was a commercial failure in theaters, but went on to become a Cult succcess on the DVD circuit. It was in a way the 90’s Rebel Without a Cause.
I have not seen Keeping the Faith, though it was well received as a comedy. In Frida he played the tycoon Nelson Rockfeller, who commisions, the artist Diego Rivera( Alfred Molina) to paint the famous mural Man at the Crossroads. He has a dispute with the leftist leaning Rivera over painting Lenin’s face, and the artist disagrees, following which the mural is destroyed. In fact the same scene was referenced in Anbe Sivam, where Kamal refuses to change the painting as per the industrialist Naazar’s wish, and later Naazar breaks down the wall. Norton again co starred with Antony Hopkins in Red Dragon, the 4th of the Hannibal series. While the movie was a commercial success, critically it was not welcomed widely.
While i have missed out in between on Down in the Valley, Kingdom of Heaven, The Illusionist in 2006 was again another solid performance from Ed Norton. The movie quite often has been compared to The Prestige. Where the Prestige was about the rivalry between two magicians, Illusionist is about Eisenheim, a young Austrian, who is a cabinet maker by profession, but also a magician. His love affair with Sophie, a rich and beautiful Duchess, and his rise as Master Illusionist, is what the movie is about. Though it had a great performance from Ed Norton, the Prestige had better direction, and a more tighter screenplay.
Norton again co starred with Naomi Watts in The Painted Veil, based on W. Somerset Maugham’s novel. Norton was brilliant as an idealistic doctor Dr. Walter Fane , married to Kitty( Naomi Watts), a shallow London socialite. Bored with her married life, Kitty embarks on an adulterous affair with a British diplomat in China, where her husband is located. However when Kitty’s lover refuses to marry her, she reluctantly travels with him to rural China, where she slowly begins to discover her husband’s real nature, and starts to love him. Dr. Walter Fane was not exactly a noble character, he was selfish, he was uncaring towards his wife, but he has dedicated his life for the Chinese villagers. Norton wonderfully brings out the mixture of Black and White, creating an idealistic character, who is human at the same time.
In spite of his talent, Norton has never been as big a star as Brad Pitt or Tom Cruise have been. Maybe it has to do with his more unassuming persona. Unlike George Clooney or Brad Pitt, who could switch effortlessly from playing the swashbuckler hero to a more grey character, Norton was restricted to a certain range. Thats the reason, why he has been a perfect choice for The Incredible Hulk, an ordinary every day man, who has another person hidden in him.
Tags: American History X, David Fincher, Ed Norton, Fight Club, Painted Veil
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@ Ratnakar
Dude you are so good at this, you need to consider collaborating with an Ed Norton or a Brad Pitt to write their autobiography for them-
truly awesome
Rounder was good, wasn’t it!! Another such movie that went quite unnoticed is Boiler Room. It has been getting much cult following for that famous Ben Affleck Group interview scene.
In American history-X when Norton is taken by police after killing the black guy, just have a look at his face.What an expression ! full of pride in his eyes!!
That look alone is worth miilion bucks!
@ RS: Great post. loved it.
One more reason Norton is not as big as Pitt or Clooney is that outside the films his personality has not been multi-dimensional. That’s one quality that sets Brad Pitt and George Clooney apart from many other stars.
I just loved his ranting in 25th hour…just awesome…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Za2k5wA3sk
I think apart from the unassuming nature and all, it is also partly because of the ‘Kevin Spacey’ like attitude to keep his own privacy to do better justice to the roles and all…
I used to really like American History X but somehow got over it after the initial enthusiasm/shock over Edward Norton’s acting… Partly because it had such a cliched story line that it just doesnt have too much of a rewatch value, apart from a few scenes (like the killing scene mentioned by Bharat Bhushan, and the dinner table scene etc.)
But there is no doubting the fact that Edward Norton is an actor par excellence… Especially with his selective nature, one can be somewhat sure of a certain level of quality of the project (not seen too many of his movies to actually counter this hypothesis).
I think one of his more commercial movies has been The Italian Job. It was a breezy movie and he sleep walked thru the role.
For Fight Club, I really did not know who he was so I think he was fantastic in it.
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I also liked Ang Lee’s Hulk. I thought it was poignant but way too long.
Vishesh Ang Lee’s Hulk had Eric Bana in title role, unless ur confusing both movies here.
Also am not sure, what do u mean who he was in Fight Club. He was the main cornerstone of Fight Club.
Ratnakar,
Guess my mind is getting all twisted and incomprehensible.
What I meant I did not know the actor Ed Norton before I saw Fight Club so he was revelation in it.
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I think the thread mentioned Ed’s Hulk that reminded me of Ang Lee’s Hulk. I haven’t watched Ed’s Hulk yet.
“Norton holds his own against Pitt”
Dude ,I don’t think he has to work too hard for that.Brad Pitt is considered an average actor compared to Edward Norton,his superstar/heartthrob status notwithstanding.
I have enjoyed all of Ed Norton’s films except The Incredible Hulk(loved the Ang Lee’s cerebral version too much to appreciate this dumbed down hulk).
A very underrated Ed Norton movie is Death to Smoochy(2002),a dark comedy with Robbin Williams, where he plays the role of a puppet in a children TV show, like a teletubby.He plays that role with utmost sincerity and honesty that I seldom see in actors.Do watch it if you can.