Brady Corbet’s “The Brutalist” is an outstanding depiction of the false reality of the American dream following the devastation of the holocaust. With ten Oscar nominations and multiple Golden Globe awards, one being for best drama motion picture. The Brutalist deserves every bit of its praise.
“The Brutalist” follows the story of László Tóth a Hungarian Jewish architect that immigrated to Philidelphia to flee from the Holocaust.
Harrison Lee Van Bueren a wealthy man Tóth came across by chance, falls in love with László’s style of architecture (Brutalism) and tasks him to build a gigantic memorial for his mother.
The film explores many themes such as immigration and the American dream, art vs. commerce and personal trauma.
I think Corbet did a fantastic job portraying the immigrants experience by using the ongoing tension between Tóth and all the Americans he interacted with such as Van Bueren, Van Bueren’s son, and his cousin’s wife.
The relationship between Tóth and these characters showed how Tóth was only “tolerated” and or seen as a commodity. Which I think is an accurate portrayal of how immigrants are either forced to assimilate or be seen only as an outsider.
Additionally, the momentous task of building a giant memorial building for Van Buren’s mother also displayed the theme of art vs. Commerce.
To László architecture was his art, and while getting to build this gigantic memorial was a way for him to express and explore his passion, it was also a great torment to him and put pressures on his mental and personal relationships.
Van Buren simply saw László as a fleeting fascination. Which masterfully ties in with how immigrants are often seen as exotic animals and not for the people they are.
Adrien Brody does an amazing job of playing László Tóth. He perfectly captures Tóth’s complexity and as always never fails to put so much life and emotion into the character.
I think it was quite fitting for Adrien Brody to play László since he also did a wonderful job playing as a holocaust survivor in “The Pianist”.
Felicity Jones plays Erzsébet, László’s wife and Jone’s performance of a supportive yet struggling wife was perfect. Jones complimented Brody very well, and to see the two characters struggling in different ways from the same problem added some diversity to the issue.
I also really enjoyed Guy Pearce as Van Buren. Despite what some critics say I didn’t think Pearce’s acting was stiff at all. One of my favorite scenes is the monologue between Van Buren and László.
One thing about the Brutalist is that it did not skimp on detail.
I loved all the visual symbolism that Corbet added to the film. For example, one of the first shots of the film after László comes to America is a view of an upside-down Statue of Liberty. I think that shot set the whole tone for the movie and foreshadowed one of the main themes of “The Brutalist.”
Additionally, the score for this movie is spectacular! As soon as I heard the main theme playing during the opening credits, I was immediately drawn in.
I also liked the use of Vista Vision cameras and 70mm format to achieve a timeless quality.
Now one thing that you’ll see a lot of people complain about in the reviews for the movie is the length of it.
“The Brutalist” is an almost four-hour movie, with a watch time of three hours and 20 minutes, which does not include the 15-minute intermission.
Personally, I loved the 15- minute intermission. When watching long movies such as “The Brutalist” after a couple hours you can get tired of watching. So, after having the 15-minute intermission I was refreshed and ready to delve back into the story.
I do though think that this movie does not have an appropriate rating. I feel this movie shouldn’t be rated R but NC-17 since it contains some serious topics and has trigger warnings.
Overall, “The Brutalist” is a fantastic film. Its wide range of themes spreading from immigration to artistic integrity makes this movie a good choice for anyone.
“The Brutalist” proved to me that good cinema isn’t dead. Movies like “The Brutalist” make us a little less ignorant of others struggles after we leave the theater.