The Brutalist review (2024)
The Brutalist has the look, feel, gravitas and the length of an old school Hollywood epic.
It’s going to be a major player this award season and seems a certainty to be the favorite in many categories including Best Picture, Best Director and Best Actor. This is the kind of film Hollywood aficionados will tout as the epitome of brilliant filmmaking.
Yet there’s a cold, emptiness to this grandiose presentation that by the end of its three hours and 35-minute run time, makes for an unsatisfying experience. The Brutalist is technically a very well-constructed, strongly performed and impressively shot film, but it’s unlikely to inspire multiple viewings.
Director/co-writer Brady Corbet (Vox Lux – available now on Amazon) and co-writer Mona Fastvold do a commendable job of making this completely fictional account of brilliant architect László Toth seem more authentic and realistic than biopics of actual people.
At its core, The Brutalist is an account of the immigrant experience in America. Arriving to the United States with hopes and dreams of a brighter tomorrow. They work hard to attain that dream only to find the goalposts to success constantly being moved by those able to constantly alter the playing field i.e. the obnoxiously wealthy.
Its post-World War II and László (Adrien Brody, Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty) has arrived in America. Corbet provides a foreboding shot for The Brutalist as the Statue of Liberty is shot upside down opening it up to interpretation of the American dream being turned on its head or simply László’s perspective.
László arrives in the States with a slight edge — his cousin, Attila (Alessandro Nivola, American Hustle), has already established a furniture shop that would greatly benefit from László’s skills. This is akin to asking a great Hall of Fame NFL coach to head up a college team, but László is dutiful in his new responsibilities. He also faithfully writes to his wife, Erzsébet (Felicity Jones, Rogue One) who remains in Europe with his niece, Zsofia (Raffey Cassidy) after the two were separated during the Holocaust.
Attila and László land a massive contract — redesigning the library of wealthy mogul Harrison Lee Van Buren (an excellent Guy Pearce, Iron Man 3) at the request of his son, Harry (Joe Alwyn, The Favourite). Harrison is surprised and not in the way Harry intended to see these strangers in his home.
Corbet intentionally frames Harrison in an early negative light as he questions why a ‘colored man,’ László’s friend, Gordon (Isaach De Bankolé, Black Panther) is on his property. Harry also stiffs the cousins on the work they’d already done, which Corbet and Fastvold suggest is the disposable manner in which immigrant workers are regarded by the upper class. Mere inconveniences that aren’t owed the decency of honoring a deal — written or otherwise.
MORE:
- Trap movie review (2024)
- Bonhoeffer: Pastor. Spy. Assassin. review
- Homestead (2024) review
- Wicked movie review (2024)
After learning of László’s genius work from his past, Harrison is quick to make amends paying him the money owed for the library project and treating him like a guest of honor at a party with his wealthy friends. László had largely managed situations where his Jewish heritage would be a discussion point or viewed in a less than polite manner, but he lets the occasional errant statement slide.
Harrison wants László to design a spectacular monument of a community center in honor of his mother, but it’s clearly a vanity project for Harrison’s legacy. László loves a challenge, and Harrison sweetens the deal by having his lawyers fast-track his wife and niece’s immigration.
This first part of The Brutalist is highly compelling setting the stage for a potentially equally engaging second act. It also cements Brody and Pearce for providing two of 2024’s best performances. Brody seems like the Best Actor lock. He gives László so much personality and insight without having long monologues or a plethora of showy scenes. This is a fully cultivated performance that Brody inhabits so well in showing all the various measures of a man.
The second chapter is where the film starts to meander and lose its sense of momentum. Jones adds a needed element that wasn’t apparent in the first half, but her arrival provides an essential perspective.
Erzsébet questions why László ignores the slights, the remarks and the outright “occasional” insulting treatment from Harrison. It’s not so much that László likes this dismissive treatment as it is László having a vision for this monument that won’t be satiated until it comes to fruition. Even when Harrison insults him on a professional level by having a vastly less qualified architect have a voice on the team.
It’s Erzsébet who sees through the carefully cultivated life of the Van Buren family and who’s not impressed by what Harrison has to offer. His money comes at a cost she doesn’t want László to pay. Corbet and Fastvold carefully navigate this money man/passionate artist dynamic right until the third act with a scene that feels both unearned and needless when the basic metaphor was already proving to be more than adequate.
This leaves the final stretch of The Brutalist playing out somewhat aimlessly save a terrific scene showcasing Jones.
The Brutalist is absolutely going to be more than a contender come award season even though its shaky foundation doesn’t make for the masterpiece the filmmakers intend.
Rating: 7 out of 10
Photo Credit: A24
As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.