See Alec Baldwin as Robert Moses in Trailer for Motherless Brooklyn

The beloved book Motherless Brooklyn by Jonathan Lethem is coming out as a feature film starring Edward Norton, as the tourettes-inflicted detective Lionel Essrog, Bruce Willis as private eye Frank Minna, and Alec Baldwin, as none other than Robert Moses (lightly disguised as Moses Randolph in the book). In the mid-century-noir aesthetic the film is imbued with, us New York City nerds will revel in a recreation of the old Penn Station, vintage New York City subway trains, actual Hamilton Heights being portrayed as Hamilton Heights, the actual former headquarters of Moses under the Triborough Bridge, a protest at the Washington Square Park arch (also shown in The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel where Moses-foe Jane Jacobs showed up), and of course the brownstones of Brooklyn.

Alec Baldwin as Moses Randolph, aka Robert Moses with Edward Norton as Lionel Essrog. Photo by Glen Wilson, © 2019 Warner Bros. Ent. All Rights Reserved

As described by the studio, “In a mystery that carries him from gin soaked jazz clubs in Harlem to the hard-edged slums of Brooklyn and, finally, into the gilded halls of New York’s power brokers, Lionel contends with thugs, corruption and the most dangerous man in the city to honor his friend and save the woman who might be his own salvation.” The film is written and directed by Norton, and other cast members include Willem Dafoe, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, and Bobby Carnavale. See trailer above, which just dropped yesterday, and a couple more stills released by Warner Brothers for Motherless Brooklyn, coming out November 1st below:

Photo by Glen Wilson, © 2019 Warner Bros. Ent. All Rights Reserved

Photo by Glen Wilson, © 2019 Warner Bros. Ent. All Rights Reserved

Next, check out the filming set of West Side Story and other sets in our Film Location column.