A prominent actor decides to write, produce and direct a
noir-soaked story as their personal passion project… I’m getting an unwelcome feeling of déjà vu. To go one further, say what you will about
Ben Affleck, he at least proved his salt as a filmmaker years before trying
this gambit; only other directing credit Edward Norton has is for Keeping The
Faith back in 2000, and outside of some uncredited punch-up work, this is
Norton’s first attempt at writing a screenplay on his own. The end result isn’t
nearly as dire as that lead-up may suggest, but it’s not exactly smelling of
roses either.
