From Jeff Nelson

Brady Corbet is a thrilling talent with a clear love for cinema, who understands how to draw from what came before while creating stories that feel uniquely his own. The Brutalist is a 3.5-hour epic that warrants its lengthy runtime by crafting a rich world brimming with nuance. At times, it’s unwieldy, but it’s a directorial knockout.

Visionary architect László Toth (Adrien Brody) flees post-war Europe in 1947 to build a better life for himself and his family’s legacy. His fate takes a sudden turn when he meets Harrison Lee Van Buren Sr. (Guy Pearce), a wealthy client with substantial aspirations.

Toth is not a real historical figure, but Corbet and Mona Fastvold’s screenplay will make audiences think otherwise through their delicately constructed character-building. The Brutalist is ambitious in tackling 30 years of a Hungarian-born Jewish immigrant. His wife, Erzsébet (Felicity Jones), and niece, Zsófia (Raffey Cassidy), remain in their homeland, forcing him to cope with poverty and isolation. His cousin, Attila (Alessandro Nivola), welcomes him to America with open arms, but it soon becomes clear that his integration into American culture transformed him into something unrecognizable.

Harrison is Toth’s pathway to the American Dream. His riches appear to know no bounds, recruiting the architect for a grandiose project that cements the family’s legacy and provides amenities for the community. Toth cautiously takes the opportunity, soon discovering his artistry to be at odds with American industry. 

Corbet and Fastvold shape Toth’s expression of pain through his sexuality, which often mirrors his journey. The fallout of the war has left him alone and poverty-striken in an unfamiliar country without his wife, where his existence is merely tolerated. He’s unable to get an erection with a sex worker and he struggles to intimately connect with Erzsébet after she finally arrives. They seek freedom in America, but what they discover is an entirely different type of confinement.

Erzsébet and Zsófia’s entrance pivots the film into a family drama that isn’t quite as absorbing. The autonomy and care allotted to Toth isn’t given to these characters, causing them to feel like an extension of his story, rather than individual people with their own dreams and hardships. Construction halts leave Toth in his agonizing alienation that never truly leaves him since his arrival, as he continues to lose control over every facet of his life.

Much of The Brutalist is detailed and expansive, allowing the world to envelop the audience in its grasp. As the story moves further along, it begins to hurry itself to the finish line. It zigzags between Toth’s family and the construction project, skipping to an artist’s legacy. Corbet’s epic works best when it’s given the space and time to breathe and meander.

Brody is sensational as Toth, transforming an already absorbing character into one that is fully realized and lived in. His physicality recalls his performance in the Oscar-winning The Pianist, delivering a stunning, raw image that drives the film. Pearce is no less exceptional as Van Buren, weaving sinister charm into every scene he’s in. And, despite having significantly less screen time, Nivola leaves a lasting impact as Attila.

Much of the credit for such a gorgeously-constructed world belongs to cinematographer Lol Crawley and production designer Judy Becker. Between the staggering sense of textures and stunning environments, this epic is a majorly immersive experience. Daniel Blumberg’s pulsating score curves between the grand and the delicate, opening the narrative’s dynamic spirit.

The Brutalist is a daring and haunting cinematic portrait of artistic imprisonment and freedom built on the ghastly foundation of the American Dream. The first half is strikingly stronger than what is to follow, particularly when it comes to the thinly-drawn family drama that lacks the rest of the story’s elaborate depth. Split into three parts and a 15-minute intermission, Corbet’s visionary direction never wavers in its ability to captivate. It’s a visually arresting epic the likes of which we don’t see in modern filmmaking. 

Rating: 4/5

The Brutalist hits theaters on December 20th, 2024.

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