Stunning. A masterpiece.
The Brutalist is a richly woven tale of pain and perseverance. It is the film of the year that, at the very least, deserves the Oscars for Best Picture, Best Director and Best Actor.
Three hours 35 minutes, including a 15-minute intermission (with a countdown clock built into the movie one hour 40 minutes in), it has layers and complexity to it.
The narrative unfolds in two parts – named The Enigma of Arrival and The Hard Core of Beauty – and an epilogue.
The centrepiece is lauded Hungarian Jewish architect László Toth (Adrien Brody).
Despite hardship, he survives the Holocaust, but is separated from his wife, Erzsébet (Felicity Jones) and young niece, Zsófia (Raffey Cassidy).
We find out more about what they endured in the film’s climax.
With nothing left, after the war – in 1947 – László manages to find safe passage to the USA.
He goes to live and work with his cousin Atilla (Alessandro Nivola) and Atilla’s wife Audrey (Emma Laird), who run a small furniture store in Philadelphia.
It is also where László receives word that Erzsébet and Zsófia also managed to see out the war.
He naturally hopes he can be reunited with them.
Atilla accepts a special design commission from Harry Lee Buren (Joe Alwyn), the son of wealthy industrialist Harrison (Guy Pearce).
It appears to be a golden ticket, but that job sets in train an ongoing turbulent association between László and Harrison, László and Harry.
Despite László’s creative brilliance and passion, he also battles a long-term drug addiction.
The Brutalist is epic in nature. It is a raw portrait of elitism and racism.
Notwithstanding his achievements and acumen, László is forever considered an outsider, who isn’t embraced by many and who can be discarded at will.
Power plays are plentiful.
Inspired by several real-life architects and designers, the film also stands as a celebration of the triumphs of the most daring and accomplished visionaries.
Co-written (with Mona Fastvold) by director Brady Corvet (Vox Lux – 2018), it is a remarkable, insightful and distressing work.
Adrien Brody, who won the Best Actor Oscar for The Pianist in 2003, delivers big time again, inhabiting the tortured soul of László Toth like a second skin.
Brody imbues in Toth a strong sense of self belief. He is resourceful, proud, arrogant, combative and troubled.
In another memorable turn in the movie, Felicity Jones is stoic and resolute as his long-suffering wife Erzsébet, who continues to endure.
She comes across as intelligent and well considered in the face of physical and mental anguish.
Guy Pearce brings bigoted privilege to the mega-rich Harrison, who is prone to fits of pique.
Visually, there is a grittiness to what we see (the cinematographer is Lol Crawley, who also shot White Noise).
The movie also features a dynamic and dramatic score from Daniel Blumberg.
The Brutalist is unforgettable. It is a bold, brilliant and captivating production.
Rated MA, it scores a 9½ out of 10.
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