History Film / MotherlessBrooklyn

* AFatherToHisMen: Frank, literally.

* FatAndSkinny: Lionel and Gilbert, in the scenes where their working together.

* HeKnowsTooMuch: The reason [[spoiler:Billy]] and Frank were killed.

* NiceGirl: Laura, which is what motivates Lionel to help her.

* SparedByTheAdaptation: [[spoiler:Tony]] who died as the result of a BlackmailBackfire in the book.

* SuperOCD: Lionel's condition gives him this. He'll occasionally do things (i.e., light matches, close doors, etc.) multiple times if they "don't make the right noise."

* DeliberateValuesDissonance: Lionel refers to black people as "colored people". Plus, the villains are racist old white business moguls.

* ImDyingPleaseTakeMyMacGuffin: It's not immediately obvious, but [[spoiler: Frank insists Lionel take his hat. Hidden inside is a locker key needed to get important evidence.]]

--> '''Trumpet Man:''' [[BondOneLiner Motherfucker. Smoked my best horn.]]

** Moses believes that his power means that he can do whatever he wants and spits on ideals and morals, proclaiming that he doesn't give a damn about the lives he's ruined because those were "lesser people".
* JerkWithAHeartOfJerk: Tony constantly mocks Lionel and cares more about continuing to make money than investigating Frank's murder. He also tells Lionel to tell Julia Minna that her husband's last words were about her, stopped an abusive Catholic school teacher from beating up Lionel when they were kids, and begins to show some respect for Lionel's deductive skills. But at the end of the day, [[spoiler: he's sleeping with Frank's wife, sells out to Frank's killers without a trace of remorse, and tries to strangle Lionel to keep him from warning Laura that her life is in danger.]]

* RedHerring: The nightclub "Formosa", which Lionel assumes to be important after hearing it said during Frank’s meeting with Lieberman. It turns out that what Frank said was "working for Moses", as in [[CorruptCorporateExecutive Moses Randolph.]]

* SuperOCD: Lionel's condition gives him this. He'll occasionally do things (ie; light matches, close doors) multiple times if they "don't make the right noise".

--> '''Lionel:''' But he'd be the most hated guy in the city, he'd piss everybody off.\\

'''Paul:''' ''Because he built the parks.'' As long as you're the guy that brings people parks, you walk with the angels, you can’t lose. The day that Rockaway Beach opened, Moses Randolph became a folk hero in this town. People don’t realize how much he hates them. "The man of the public who hates people."

* WeCanRuleTogether: Both Moses and [[spoiler: Tony]] make relatively sincere but self-serving offers for Lionel to work alongside them.
* WhamLine:
--> '''Lionel:''' You said they're working Formosa, what does that mean?\\

--> '''Laura:''' [[spoiler:No, that's not my father Billy meeting with my uncle Paul, that's my ''uncle'' Billy meeting with my ''father'' Paul!]]

* YouHaveFailedMe: [[spoiler:Lionel informs Moses that Lieberman was only aiding him to scam money out of him, and it's pretty clear Moses is going to kill him over it.]]

* AngryBlackMan: Played with. Billy Rose beats the crap out of Lionel and refers to him as a cracker, but only because he thought Lionel was one of Moses' men and stalking Laura, and he apologizes after learning his real identity. Laura herself is angry about Moses' construction project, but she gives Lionel information while thinking he's a reporter to get their plight in the news. Trumpet Man gets pretty angry about a white guy asking him for tips on playing instruments, but he generally comes off as pretty affable to Lionel.

** Moses believes that his power means that he can do whatever he wants and spits on ideals and morals, proclaiming that he doesn't give a damn about the lives he’s ruined because those were "lesser people".

** Frank’s widow Julia is more upset about how his death affects ''her'' and her financial situation rather than the fact that, you know, he’s ''dead.''
** Moses believes that his power means that he can do whatever he wants and spits on ideals and morals, proclaiming that he doesn’t give a damn about the lives he’s ruined because those were "lesser people".

* ImDyingPleaseTakeMyMacguffin: It's not immediately obvious, but [[spoiler: Frank insists Lionel take his hat. Hidden inside is a locker key needed to get important evidence.]]

In 1950s New York City, Lionel “Brooklyn” Essrog (Norton) is a PrivateDetective suffering from Tourette’s Syndrome working for his adoptive father Frank Minna’s (Creator/BruceWillis) detective agency and car service alongside his fellow orphans Gilbert Coney (Ethan Suplee), Tony Vermonte (Creator/BobbyCannavale), and Danny Fantl (Dallas Roberts). After Frank is shot with his own gun after attempting to blackmail some shadowy people connected to a mysterious case he was working on, Lionel begins investigating the case, hoping to bring Frank’s killers to justice, only to find a massive conspiracy that extends all the way to the top of the local government.

* ActuallyPrettyFunny: Moses finds the protester’s chant that “Mo must go!” pretty funny, and laughs at it.

* AngryBlackMan: Played with. Billy Rose beats the crap out of Lionel and refers to him as a cracker, but only because he thought Lionel was one of Moses’s men and stalking Laura, and he apologizes after learning his real identity. Laura herself is angry about Moses’s construction project, but she gives Lionel information while thinking he’s a reporter to get their plight in the news. Trumpet Man gets pretty angry about a white guy asking him for tips on playing instruments, but he generally comes off as pretty affable to Lionel.
* BaitAndSwitch: While snooping around at a nightclub, Lionel questions a beautiful nightclub singer, who looks like she’ll be his love interest. When she asks him for a smoke, he tries to light up a match to light her cigarette, only for his Tourette’s to cause him to repeatedly blow it out, resulting in her angrily leaving.
* BaldOfEvil: Lieberman’s henchman Lou is bald, and a total jackass on top of being involved in the conspiracy.

* BittersweetEnding: [[spoiler:On the one, Lionel’s gotten Laura to a location only he knows about far away from Moses’s goons, Lieberman is almost certainly going to be killed, and Lionel gave Gleason the birth certificates and documents Moses tried so hard to hide, which will likely ruin his career. However, Frank and Billy are still dead, Lionel’s adoptive brother Tony betrayed him and tried to kill him, and Moses denied Paul’s plans to revolutionize New York’s electrical grid out of spite.]]
* BlackAndGrayMorality: The main characters are all various shades of gray, whereas the villains are all devoid of redeeming qualities. Laura and Horowitz are brave, kindhearted protesters, Paul is a good man who doesn’t want to risk his project that will benefit all of New York or [[spoiler:his niece Laura’s life]], Lionel is a mildly unscrupulous but overall good guy, Trumpet Man is an occasionally violent but usually friendly and calm musician who treats others with respect, Gilbert and Danny want to solve the murder of Frank but just not with as much intensity and feeling as Lionel (who they care about but can be frustrated over) and Frank and Billy are [[JerkWithAHeartOfGold Jerks With A Heart Of Gold]] [[spoiler:whose blackmail scheme nearly gets Laura killed]], but only wanted to benefit their families. On the other hand, Moses is a power-hungry sociopath who ruins people’s lives out of spite, Lieberman is a corrupt businessman who runs people out of their homes for a quick buck, and Lou and the Giant Man are brutal thugs.

* ButtMonkey: Lionel’s Tourette’s repeatedly cause problems for him, and wind up making his investigation harder. He also gets beaten up a lot.

* CatchPhrase: Lionel often shouts out “If!” in the throws of his Tourette’s.

* CoolOldLady: Gabby Horowitz, the elderly Jewish crusader against Moses’s construction projects.

* CowardlyLion: Paul is afraid to go public with his information on Moses because it could jeopardize his plans for getting Moses to implement his revolutionary plans for New York’s electrical grid and [[spoiler:Laura’s life.]]

* DeliberateValuesDissonance: Lionel refers to black people as “colored people”. Plus, the villains are racist old white business moguls.

* DirtyCop: The detective in charge of investigating [[spoiler:Billy]]’s death is implied to be on Moses’s payroll.

* DragonWithAnAgenda: William Lieberman is only working with Moses because Moses’s projects give him kickbacks. [[spoiler:It’s heavily implied Moses kills him over it.]]

* FauxAffablyEvil: Moses, who acts like a polite and affable man of the people, but is really a cold, power hungry sociopath who ruined his own brother’s life because Paul tried to get him to take care of [[spoiler:his daughter Laura]], and ruins and murders anyone who gets in his way.

* GreedyJew: Lieberman, a CorruptCorporateExecutive who goes along with Moses’s plot because he’s getting kickbacks from it. Averted with Gabby Horowitz, the leader of the protests.

** Moses believes that his power means that he can do whatever he wants and spits on ideals and morals, proclaiming that he doesn’t give a damn about the lives he’s ruined because those were “lesser people”.

* NeverSuicide: The villains stage [[spoiler:Billy]]’s death as a suicide.

* RedHerring: The nightclub "Formosa", which Lionel assumes to be important after hearing it said during Frank’s meeting with Lieberman. It turns out that what Frank said was “working for Moses”, as in [[CorruptCorporateExecutive Moses Randolph.]]

* {{Trumplica}}: Moses Randolph bears a lot of resemblance to UsefulNotes/DonaldTrump, often talking about how he will make “this city great!” in his speeches and being played by Creator/AlecBaldwin, who famously did impersonations of Trump on ''Series/SaturdayNightLive''.

* UnderestimatingBadassery: Lieberman admits they underestimated Lionel, having believed him to be one of the least competent of Minna’s agency due to his Tourette’s.
* UngratefulBastard: After Frank dies, Tony immediately starts having sex with his widow Julia and refuses to investigate the people who killed him, [[spoiler:because he’s working for them.]]

--> '''Lionel:''' But he’d be the most hated guy in the city, he’d piss everybody off.\\
'''Paul:''' They love him. That’s what makes me so... He flies above it, they ''revere'' him.\\

'''Paul:''' ''Because he built the parks.'' As long as you’re the guy that brings people parks, you walk with the angels, you can’t lose. The day that Rockaway Beach opened, Moses Randolph became a folk hero in this town. People don’t realize how much he hates them. “The man of the public who hates people.”

--> '''Lionel:''' You said they’re working Formosa, what does that mean?\\
'''Paul:''' I said they’re working for ''Moses'', you know, Moses Randolph.

--> '''Laura:''' [[spoiler:No, that’s not my father Billy meeting with my uncle Paul, that’s my ''uncle'' Billy meeting with my ''father'' Paul!]]

* YouHaveFailedMe: [[spoiler:Lionel informs Moses that Lieberman was only aiding him to scam money out of him, and it’s pretty clear Moses is going to kill him over it.]]

* SuperOCD: Lionel's condition gives him this. He'll occasionally do things (ie; light matches, close doors) multiple times if they "don’t make the right noise".

* VerbalTic: Among other things, Lionel has a habit of saying ''If!'' frequently.

* BaldOfAwesome: Frank was played by Bruce Wills, making him this by default.

''Motherless Brooklyn'' is a 2019 neo-noir BlackComedy drama directed by, written by, and starring Creator/EdwardNorton alongside an AllStarCast loosely based off [[Literature/MotherlessBrooklyn the novel of the same name.]]

* UngratefulBastard: After Frank dies, Tony immediately starts having sex with his widow Julia and refuse to investigate the people who killed him, [[spoiler:because he’s working for them.]]

* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: Gilbert and Danny vanish from focus after a while and [[spoiler:It isn't shown how they take to Lionel leaving and the reveal of Tony's betrayal.]]

* ShellShockedVeteran: Billy came back from World War II with a crippled arm and a Tom of bitterness.

* PoliticallyIncorrectVillain: Moses builds his properties mainly on black neighborhoods because he hates racist.

* RedHerring: The nightclub Formosa, which Lionel assumes to be important after hearing it said during Frank’s meeting with Lieberman. It turns out that what Frank said was “working for Moses”, as in [[CorruptCorporateExecutivd Moses Randolph.]]

* NiceGuy: Lionel is earnest, cordial whenever possible and not prone to getting ma at people who don't deserve it.

** Moses believes that his power means that he can do whatever he wants, and spits in ideals and morals, proclaim ping that he doesn’t giv pe a damn about the lives he’s up ruined because those were “lesser people”.

* CainAndAbel: The kindhearted and selfless Paul is the brother to the greedy, spiteful, racist, and cold Moses.

* BlackAndGrayMorality: The main characters are all various shades of gray, whereas the villains are all devoid of redeeming qualities. Laura and Horowitz are brave, kindhearted protesters, Paul is a good man who doesn’t want to risk his project that will benefit all of New York or [[spoiler:his niece Laura’s life]], Lionel is a mildly unscrupulous but overall good guy, Trumpet Man is an occasionally violent but usually friendly and calm musician who treats others with respect, Gilbert and Danny want to solve the murder of Frank but just not with as much intensity and feeling as Lionel (who they care about but can be frustrated over) and Frank and Billy are [[JerkWithAHeartOfGold Jerks With A Heart Of Gold]] [[spoiler:who nearly get Laura killed]] their blackmail scheme, bout only wanted to benefit their families. On the other hand, Moses is a power-hungry sociopath who ruins people’s lives out of spite, Lieberman is a corrupt businessman who runs people out of their homes for a quick buck, and Lou and the Giant Man are brutal thugs.

* BaitAndSwitch: While snooping around at a nightclub, Lionel questions a beautiful nightclub singer, who looks like she’ll be his love interest. When she asks him for a smoke, he tries to light up a mask to light her cigarette, only for his Tourette’s to cause him to repeatedly blow it out, resulting in her angrily leaving.