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Currently pursuing a film career with a passion for film journalism, storytelling of any kind has allowed me to let my imagination run wild in ways even I couldn’t predict. Expect me to write about film, TV, and the entertainment industry.
One of the beauties about living in a film-centric city like Los Angeles is attending early screenings of movies that won’t be released to the public in weeks, if not months. I was fortunate to watch Brady Corbet and Mona Fastvold’s The Brutalist at the Aero Theatre as part of Beyond Fest’s lineup. The energy in the room was palpable. A few audience members flew out of state to watch the film, flying back home that same night. Others waited in the standby line for tickets since 4 AM (the screening started at 6 PM). People were counting down the minutes for the movie to resume during its intermission. They ran to concessions or got in the long line for the restroom that began inside the theater. So… was the chaos worth the hype around The Brutalist?
The Brutalist‘s Core Themes
Set between the 1940s and 1980s, visionary architect László Tóth (Adrien Brody, Asteroid City) arrives in America from post-war Europe. He escapes the horrors of war to rebuild his life and work. In a strange new country as a Jewish man, László settles in Pennsylvania. There, Harrison Lee Van Buren (Guy Pearce, Mare of Easttown) – a wealthy and prominent industrialist – recognizes his architectural talents. He hires László to build an ambitious project that will define his life. Yet, power and legacy come at a heavy cost.
Epic isn’t enough to describe The Brutalist. There’s something impressive about seeing a $6 million feel-good movie, which transitions into a dark drama, have such a massive scale. It’s almost at the level of a high-budget blockbuster like Dune: Part Two. The Brutalist is a sweeping tale of the American dream. Most importantly, it questions imaginative people if aspiring to create is worthwhile when your art hurts those dearest to you. Corbet and co-screenwriter Fastvold don’t sugarcoat this thematic throughline. They often go to upsetting lengths to show the physical turmoil it can cause on the body. Everyone wants a piece of your talent and will stop at nothing until they have a part. This is a sentiment shared by many filmmakers, including Corbet, as he stated in the Q&A following the screening.
Some of the Year’s Best Performances
To say Adrien Brody has never been better should feel wrong coming from a performer of his stature. However, that statement rings true here. There is a stoic nature to Brody’s László, a stoicism that hides a deep sense of pain and resentment. As an immigrant, you often encounter individuals who view your experience as some kind of luxury to brag about. Their support comes off as performative, not genuine. Brody conveys this beautifully through his line delivery, his interactions with the supporting cast, and the physicality brought to László. When he needs to be funny, his timing is impeccable, having to catch up with Guy Pearce’s effortless charisma.
Pearce may have delivered my favorite supporting role of the year in The Brutalist. From the second he shows up, he takes command of the scenery, drawing attention to himself and making everyone opposite of him feel small. His introduction is played for laughs, a personality trait stretched out for the entirety of the movie’s first half. Meanwhile, there is a sinister nature to how he seduces the audience into liking him, similar to what he does to László. Once the second half kicks in, Pearce’s Harrison slowly drops the mask and reveals the evil within him, just as the film shifts tonally. It’s a brutal change for our roster of characters, albeit one that fits the core theme of the immigrant experience. It portrays the torture that creates something magnificent for people with selfish interests.
A light is at the end of the tunnel amidst the darkness when Felicity Jones enters the picture. She becomes the anchor for both László and the film until the end. Jones brings a sweetness to Erzsébet Tóth, László’s wife, that is enchanting. Her sweetness should not be mistaken for weakness, though. Her strong character shines through, holding her ground opposite Brody and Pearce. A confrontation between Erzsébet, Harry (Joe Alwyn, Kinds of Kindness), and Maggie (Stacy Martin, The Night House) – Harrison’s children – comes on top as one of the movie’s best, most tense sequences in which Jones’ talents are at full display.
Auditory and Visual Delights
The Brutalist holds admirable performances across the board. Although, none would be as emotionally compelling if it were not for the way cinematographer Lol Crawley’s photography captures the actors and the landscapes. Corbet and Crawley’s decision to shoot The Brutalist on 35mm film stock using VistaVision cameras – later on scanned at a resolution close to 70mm – proves to have been the right call. The movie’s visual style feels timeless yet haunting. Structures are framed as these intimidating behemoths, reducing our main players to nothing but insignificant ants in their presence. At the same time, there is also a warmth and beauty to them, coming to life in the sunlight and promising a future filled with potential.
Visuals are just one-half of the complete picture here, though. The sound design is just as unreal as the moving images. Somehow, the sound captures the absurdity, hopefulness, horror, and manipulation that our characters undergo. Composer Daniel Blumberg adds to the auditory delight with his magnificent original score. Earlier, I mentioned the film’s tremendous scope, and a part of selling The Brutalist’s scale comes from Blumberg’s work. As László grows obsessed with creating the perfect building for Harrison, the score keeps reaching highs that make you as pumped for the work as much as László is. With that said, Blumberg does stop every once in a while to represent the abuse each character inflicts on the others through hauntingly beautiful music. His soundtrack is one of the year’s best scores alongside Hans Zimmer’s Dune: Part Two and Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross’ efforts in Challengers.
The Verdict on The Brutalist
It fills me with joy that the great American epic is still alive and well today. In 2023, Christopher Nolan proved audiences crave intimate storytelling à la There Will Be Blood or Schindler’s List with his Best Picture winner, Oppenheimer. While I don’t see The Brutalist being a massive hit as Nolan’s epic, movies of its kind are relevant and important to our current climate. What does it mean to be an artist? Can we aspire to be better when surrounded by people who only want to take advantage of what we can offer? Hate and violence remain prominent in our lives, so what can we look forward to for us to keep going? Those are tricky questions you will have to answer for yourself but also meaningful inquiries The Brutalist presents in an epic fashion. It’ll be the fastest 215 minutes you’ll spend in a theater.
Score: 4.5/5
The Brutalist has its limited run in US theaters via A24 starting next December 20th!
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Currently pursuing a film career with a passion for film journalism, storytelling of any kind has allowed me to let my imagination run wild in ways even I couldn’t predict. Expect me to write about film, TV, and the entertainment industry.
This article was edited by John Tangalin.