The Brutalist
review by Bobby Blakey
Director Brady Corbet has already made an impressive resume with interesting films such as 2018 Vox Lux, but his latest film The Brutalist is taking things to a different place. The film stars Adrien Brody, Felicity Jones, Guy Pearce, Joe Alwyn, Raffey Cassidy, Stacy Martin, Emma Laird, with Isaach De Bankolé, and Alessandro Nivola and already racking up the accolades including 3 Golden Globes. Now the film is getting a wider release, but does it live up to its reputation or was it not worth constructing?
The Brutalist follows visionary architect László Toth and his wife Erzsébet who flee Europe to rebuild their legacy and witness the birth of modern America where their lives are changed forever by a mysterious and wealthy client. The seemingly charming industrialist Harrison Van Buren offers László and his family the American Dream on a silver platter by commissioning him to design a grand modernist monument and help shape the landscape of the country he now calls home. It will be the most ambitious project of his career, one that will take László and Erzsébet to both monumental heights and devastating lows.
The only thing I really knew about this film other than the cast was that it was dealing with the Holocaust in some way, and it was over 3 hours long. This didn’t give me all that much interest in putting myself through a downer for that long, but I could not have been more wrong. The story is so much more than that and the long run doesn’t feel like it and does justice to tell this story fully. There are elements to this story that might be hard to watch for some, but at the same time serve as a harsh reminder to what some people endured during these times.
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The film offers up a story following Toth played to perfection by Brody throughout his journey once he arrives in the US. It is filled with thoughts and opportunities of the American dream, but also the brutality of the truth to get there physically and emotionally. Brody goes all in with this role, bringing a strong depth to the role that fluctuates from pride, concern, fear, hope, sadness and everything else you could possibly imagine someone going through. He is the centerpiece to this film and carries most of it and gives easily one of his best performances of his career which is saying a lot to his resume.
The supporting cast are all excellent as well with Guy Pearce standing out. His multilayered character will have you initially hating him but then seeing what appears to be hopefully admiration before seeing even more truth in ways often hard to understand other than shows of a reminder of power and social class. Felicity Jones holds her own as well coming into the film later but playing an all important role for them all. Her relationship with Brody is powerful and authentic even when they don’t seem to be on the same path. Her interactions with Pearce are some of the strongest in the film and showcases her best performance yet as well.
It is a beautifully shot period piece filled with everything from the ghettos and upper-class sections of the city into the beautiful architecture of Toth’s designs. The look and feel of the film offer beauty even during the horrific nature of some of the treatment and actions taken against these undiscovered people. I was so surprised how much I loved this movie given the tone, subject and run time. It isn’t the kind of film that you would just sit around and watch for the fun of it, but it is a powerful brilliant piece of filmmaking that will no doubt be met with not only more accolades throughout its run, but one that deserves to be seen and will hopefully get the attention it deserves from audiences. For those worried about the run time it offers up an old school intermission for you to take a break if needed.
Decide for yourself and check out The Brutalist available now on 4K, Blu-ray and DVD from A24.
