László Tóth (Adrien Brody) was a groundbreaking architect in his native Budapest. Having fled post-war Europe, he finds himself in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, living in the back room of a small furniture shop owned by relative Attila (Alessandro Nivola). His big break seems to come when wealthy siblings Harry (Joe Alwyn) and Maggie (Stacy Martin) hire him to convert their father’s disorganized study into a streamlined reading room. At first, Harrison Lee Van Buren (Guy Pearce) hates it. He later changes his mind, offering László a financially lucrative opportunity to design a new community center he’s envisioned.
That’s the first part. The second part details what happens when László’s wife Erszébet (Felicity Jones) finally arrives in America. What should be a happy time becomes marred by conflicts with Van Buren and complications regarding the building.
The Brutalist is very much about how difficult obtaining the American dream can be for immigrants. László was a big deal in his homeland; in the United States, he’s just another foreigner scraping to get by. Antisemitism of both the overt and subtle types plays a part in making it hard to get ahead. Van Buren, for example, is quick to write him off until he discovers his successful past. Then László suddenly becomes useful, if, as one awkward dinner scene suggests, still not completely accepted.
Corbet and co-writer Mona Fastvold have structured the story magnificently. For the first 99 minutes, we follow László as he struggles to assimilate in a new country. By going through the ups and downs with him, he becomes less a fictional character and more like a real person. The intermission arrives just as he appears likely to find his footing. After the intermission, we witness him more in his element but also facing challenges he wouldn’t have had in Budapest. The community center becomes an obsession, and we understand why. This is a man who needs to make his mark. He isn’t overseeing the construction of a physical building; he’s making a personal and political statement. Again, the length adds to our ability to grasp his mindset.
Adrien Brody gives the performance of his career here, which is saying a lot given that he won an Academy Award for his stunning work in The Pianist. The actor brings out the drive inside László Tóth, as well as the way his emotions are always right at the surface. This guy feels so authentic that it’s impossible not to get swept up into his journey. Guy Pearce does extraordinary work, too, bringing depth to Van Buren’s elitist worldview. He makes a great foil. As Erszébet, Felicity Jones gets a little less screen time, although she turns her character into a figure of unexpected fierceness.
The Brutalist was shot in VistaVision, a celluloid format whose larger negative allows for increased detail in the image. (Hitchcock shot North by Northwest and Vertigo this way.) Corbet and cinematographer Lol Crawley use it to make the time period come alive. America looks somehow bigger in VistaVision, befitting how the main character perceives the country. You additionally get a beautiful texture from the format. Everything the camera captures appears lived in, as opposed to the digitally immaculate visions we’ve grown accustomed to. This truly is one of the year’s most gorgeous pictures.
You don’t simply watch The Brutalist, you inhabit it for 200 minutes. Despite the length, I was not bored for a single second. Storytelling this rich and detailed doesn’t come along too often. The film is a momentous cinematic achievement.
out of four
The Brutalist is rated R for language, sexual content and violence. The running time is 3 hours and 35 minutes (including a 15-minute intermission).
© 2024 Mike McGranaghan