Norman: The Moderate Rise and Tragic Fall of a New York Fixer

Norman Oppenheimer is a small-time New York fixer who makes his living by connecting people and presenting himself as better connected than he really is. Jewish and of modest means, he offers advice of a business and political nature, mostly to American and Israeli clients, and works from a telephone rather than an office. He befriends Micha Eshel, an Israeli politician at a low point in his life, and three years later Eshel becomes Prime Minister of Israel. Norman's life changes sharply for the better, and then for the worse, as his association with a world leader draws him into an international scandal.

Joseph Cedar directed and wrote the film, an Israeli-American co-production released in 2016. Richard Gere plays Norman, with Lior Ashkenazi as Micha Eshel, and the cast includes Michael Sheen, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Dan Stevens and Jonathan Avigdori. It runs 117 minutes and blends comedy, drama and thriller elements.

On IMDb the film holds 6.1 out of 10 from around 6,800 votes, and on TMDB 5.5 out of 10 from roughly 200 votes. A critics' rating of 7.2 out of 10 from 125 reviews places it noticeably above those audience scores. It grossed about 4 million dollars worldwide.