The Brutalist

Released 2024. Director: Brady Corbet

AMBITION CAN BE MEASURED IN DIFFERENT WAYS and whichever way you look at it, The Brutalist is an exceedingly ambitious film. Through the story of one man, The Brutalist is about the challenges of new beginnings, creative vision and also the inevitability of crushing disillusionment. From its lofty themes to filmmaking artistry, The Brutalist is an exemplary accomplishment, combining the grand scope of a flawed hero’s epic with the intimacy of a personal tragedy.

The presentation of the film itself is audacious, not just because it’s shot on VistaVision (more on which later). Let’s start with an overture, the proper kind with a full orchestral prelude, before the film unspools for just over three-and-a-half hours, the longest runtime of any movie of 2024. If like me you have an active bladder, it’s a relief to know there’s a 15-minute intermission halfway through. Would be quite brutal otherwise.

A grand fanfare of brass and percussion by Daniel Blumberg raises the curtains as our protagonist, a Hungarian Jew named László Tóth, arrives in New York in 1947. The soaring music heightens the euphoria and optimism as the Holocaust survivor catches sight of the Statue of Liberty, although this shot, stunningly wrong-side up, also foreshadows László’s future.

László finds his way to Philadelphia and works at his cousin Attila’s furniture business renovating a library for wealthy businessman Harrison Van Buren. The promise of a new beginning crumbles when László is kicked out after Attila’s wife falsely accuses him of making sexual advances. The future looks grim for an unsupported migrant who waits in line at soup kitchen, sleeps in a shelter and shovels coal for money.

Rebirth beckons when Harrison learns that László is an accomplished Bauhaus-educated architect and commissions the dispirited man to spearhead a colossal construction project. Through Harrison’s legal contacts, László is also able to arrange for his wife Erzsébet and her niece Zsófia to sail to America to join him and start their new life together although the process would take several years.

Under Harrison’s patronage, László’s grand project slowly rises on the top of a hill. The imposing edifice is a monument to the Brutalism architecture that emphasises raw material and utilitarianism over decorative detail, yet the striking concrete and marble structure resembles more an ancient mausoleum than a welcome space of acceptance as intended. In the long and difficult years to come, this symbol of one man’s power and another’s artistic compromise will turn out to be both a blessing and a curse to both of them.

Prejudice against foreigners and newcomers is a disquieting reality that never recedes, regardless of talent, skills and experience. László is mocked, rather passive-aggressively, for his accent. The immigrant works hard to make a new home amidst new people, in a new environment, speaking a new lanuguage; yet he doesn't feel truly accepted. Harry is only speaking the truth when he tells László, “We tolerate you.”

Adrien Brody is compelling as the tortured dreamer, not only because his eyes are deep wells of emotions. Not quite an unblemished hero, László is a tempestuous perfectionist and a heroin addict. He’s also a devoted husband, a creative genius, a deeply frustrated and wounded man suppressing his tumultuous feelings. The way Brody speaks, his angry voice and his muffled sobs, the way he walks, his whole person embodies the struggle László experiences through the years, physically and psychologically.

There is no mediocrity in the acting department. Brody leads a cast that shows discernment and dedication to their craft. Felicity Jones plays László’s wheelchair-bound wife Erzsébet, a fiercely focused support to her idealistic husband, a protector to his provider. Guy Pearce takes a character moulded from men of position and wealth in classic Hollywood movies and imbues the mercurial Harrison Van Buren with shades and layers. With less screen time but no less import are Joe Alwyn as Harrison’s son Harry, Alessandro Nivola as Attila, Raffey Cassidy as Zsófia and Isaach De Bankole as László’s friend Gordon.

The arduous construction process László goes through in turning his design into concrete reality is itself a reflection of the art of filmmaking or creative pursuits in general. The artist creates, financially supported but vulnerable to compromises and sacrifices both in the professional and personal sense. While it might resonate with some, others might feel director Brady Corbet has taken metaphors a step too far with László’s final indignity.

Corbet and his team have created a remarkable environment from the production design of the interiors to the marble quarry in Carrara. Cinematographer Lol Crawley shot The Brutalist in VistaVision, the first time the format has been revived for an entire feature-length film since the late 1950s. Crawley’s technique on the format gives The Brutalist a vintage look and is a cinematic showcase for the expansive vistas and the majestic heights of László’s buildings.

Just as an architect’s art is concerned with the innovative use of space, Corbet as a film director creates his art on the screen. With The Brutalist, he’s extended a challenging and grandiose reach with a story that touches on post-war immigration, art, purpose, power and the American Dream. This humanistic story about suffering and triumph is the product of a visionary artist, bold and astute, delivered with consummate skill and exacting control. The Brutalist, not Anora, should've won the Oscar for Best Picture.

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