The Hollywood Reporter by Todd McCarthy

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.

Variety by Peter Debruge

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.

TheWrap by Claudia Puig

As involving as the story is with its impressive ensemble cast, “Norman” is above all a showcase for Gere’s substantial talents.

The New York Times by A.O. Scott

It’s less that Mr. Cedar blends realism with absurdity than that he refuses to acknowledge any distinction between them.

Rolling Stone by Peter Travers

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

The Seattle Times by Moira Macdonald

Gere, who somehow seems to make himself physically smaller here, creates a character both infuriating and endearing.

Movie Nation by Roger Moore

Cedar has given Gere his own “House of Cards” to move into, where the game analogies spin out as chess and, most tellingly, dominoes. Norman needs them to fall just so, and if they do, he will be a man to be reckoned with.

Chicago Sun-Times by Richard Roeper

Gere’s work in “Norman” is to be treasured. It’s one of the best performances in any movie this year.

Chicago Tribune by Michael Phillips

A vital and wily seriocomic odyssey. And Gere has never been better, more alive, on screen.

The Playlist by Gregory Ellwood

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.

Screen Daily by Tim Grierson

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

We Got This Covered

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.

Screen International by Tim Grierson

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

The A.V. Club by A.A. Dowd

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.

Slant Magazine by Kenji Fujishima

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

The Guardian by Benjamin Lee

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

IndieWire by David Ehrlich

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.