It feels like this film was on very few radars until the fall festivals, then immediately blew up. Word of its epic nature and gargantuan runtime made waves all through TIFF and next thing I knew it was flying near the top of everyone's Oscar predictions. I finally had the chance to see it last weekend, and it truly lived up to the lofty expectations I had for it.
The Brutalist is the latest from actor turned director Brady Corbet, who directed the Natalie Portman film Vox Lux, but also starred in a childhood favourite of mine Thunderbirds. Suffice to say this is a bit more cinematic than Thunderbirds, as Corbet has crafted a true epic. The film follows Laszlo Toth (Adrian Brody), a Jewish-Hungarian architect who makes his way to America after the war to try to find a new life. He starts out working for and living in the storeroom of a cousin, before a surprising turn of events with a wealthy client sets him on the path of creating his architectural opus.
It feels like the idea of the American Dream is something we don't see as often in film nowadays as we did in the past. The Brutalist uses that idea to tell not just the story of an immigrant man finding his way, but also as a way of showing the way one's craft can consume them. Laszlo starts out as a humble man willing to do next to anything to make ends meet. We see him lining up at food banks, working underpaying jobs, sleeping in crowded rooms, but as the opportunity to get back to his formerly successful calling comes, his ego and persona grow, at times to the detriment of those around him.
The film is set in two acts with a fifteen minute intermission around the middle. Admittedly I thought even with the long runtime that the intermission was something that I wouldn't be a fan of, but it truly splits the film perfectly. The first half of the film is full of hope and optimism, allowing us to watch as this man who was once someone spectacular struggles his way back to being someone meaningful. It almost feels like a fully fleshed out film on its own, and ends with a booming excitement before leaving you for fifteen minutes. The second half takes all that excitement and dissects it and the man at its centre. It introduces us to Laszlo's wife Erzebet (Felicity Jones) and niece Zsofia (Raffey Cassidy), a moment we have waited much of the runtime for. That joy is hindered by Erzebet's medical condition, and the ego Laszlo has regained in the time between the two acts, along with some unfortunate truths beneath the surface of his benefactor.
I did find that the first act was more my speed, as the film post-intermission doesn't have that sense of optimism, but as a whole I was really wowed by Corbet's filmmaking. From interviews I have seen he put a lot of attention into the visuals and the specific film used, and the result is magnificent. The budget was from everything I've heard, less than ten million dollars, but thanks to the attention to detail and imaginative visuals of Corbet and cinematographer Lol Crowley, the film truly looks and feels epic for its entire runtime. Composer Daniel Blumberg also plays a big part in that epic feel of the film, giving this a swooping score evoking grand works like The Godfather. A film of this scale needs music that fits it and Blumberg absolutely delivers. I also have to applaud the editing of the film. The intermission was a brilliant touch, but even aside from it, the film somehow never drags despite how big and long it is. It's an all around feat of filmmaking, bringing the past to life with grandeur for a fraction of what most studio films are made for nowadays.
To carry a film of this stature you need some great performers, and The Brutalist delivers some of the year's absolute best performances. Adrian Brody at the heart of everything is astounding. He's almost playing two different characters with the range of Laszlo's persona, but no matter what he needs to portray he does it masterfully. We grow to care deeply for Laszlo thanks to Brody's work, so even as his morals wane it's hard to shake that care. Guy Pearce plays Mr. Van Buren, the wealthy man who tasks Laszlo with designing a centre to honour his late mother. Pearce similarly wears different masks here and nails them all, making you convinced he's a genuine man one moment and a monster the next. It's the best I've seen from him in a long time. Felicity Jones as Erzebet gives one of the most sympathetic performances I've seen in some time. Her character is struggling with her health upon arriving in America, but is still full of hope and love, two things the second act strips away quite a bit. In a world of men with big egos she manages to shine in countless scenes, delivering career best work in her own right. Joe Alwyn, Raffy Cassidy, Alessandro Nivola, and Stacy Martin are all other standouts of the ensemble, with no key player turning in a bad performance.
This film won't be for everyone. Anything with near this long of a runtime is no doubt intimidating, and if you don't connect with Corbet's story it'll be a long watch. I loved it though, it's a true epic despite its limited budget and features some of the absolute best performances of the year. As soon as the intermission hit I found myself thinking that this was something special, and while the second act didn't quite connect as deeply, I still found myself completely wowed. 4.5/5
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