The Brutalist (2024)

Dir: Brady Corbet

Cast: Adrien Brody, Felicity Jones, Guy Pearce, Joe Alwyn, Raffey Cassidy, Stacy Martin, Emma Laird, Isaach de Bankole, Alessandro Nivola

Adrien Brody delivers a soul-crushing performance as a struggling Hungarian immigrant in Brady Corbet’s powerfully brutal dissection of the American Dream

For more than a decade, the cinematic landscape has been dominated by big-budget, comic book adaptations, with the likes of Marvel and DC producing an abundance of uninspiring action blockbusters that have become increasingly reliant on CGI. These huge summer blockbusters are not the only productions guilty of ballooning budgets in recent years, but also Oscar-worthy period dramas, such as Martin Scorsese‘s slow-burn epic “Killers of the Flower Moon”, which Apple backed with a whopping $200 million. Following the Covid-19 pandemic, cinema chains and the industry in general has continued to struggle, to a great extent this is due to a global hesitation to ditch the increasingly popular streaming services such as Netflix and Prime Video. These increasing production budgets given to big screen spectacles are seeing the likes of “Gladiator II” failing to make a splash at the box-office, as they are required to make absurd amounts of money just to account for production costs.

This is a serious issue that Hollywood needs to address if it is to continue to produce quality pictures without facing the financial repercussions. As technology has progressed, even the most seasoned filmmakers have become less savvy when it comes to saving on costs, knowing that they are more than likely to have their high budget demands met based on their personal career merits alone. Hopefully the more experienced Hollywood filmmakers can take note of the latest film by American filmmaker Brady Corbet. Filmed entirely in VistaVision, Corbet’s latest project “The Brutalist” harkens back to monumental epics of old Hollywood, by recapturing a genuine sense of grandeur and technical achievement.

Despite being only 36-years-old, the Arizona native has been in the industry for over two decades, having appeared in cult, coming of age dramas “Thirteen” (2003) and “Mysterious Skin” (2004). Having quit acting in 2014 to pursue filmmaking, Corbet’s only two previous directorial efforts “The Childhood of a Leader” (2015) and “Vox Lux” (2018), struggled to make a dent at the box office despite garnering critical acclaim. However, the talented young filmmaker has seen his stock rise significantly recently, following the success of his latest project, which has become an award season juggernaut, with Corbet taking home the Golden Globe for Director earlier this month. Produced on a remarkably modest budget of $10million, “The Brutalist” is a thought-provoking and harrowing tale of the immigration experience, depicting the every day struggles of those forced to flee their own countries, who are subjected to xenophobic mistreatment by those who have taken them in.

Clocking in at just under four hours, accompanied by an overture and an intermission, it truly is an ambitious achievement in filmmaking, one the likes of which has not been seen for decades gone by, and what is more remarkable is its originality. Despite playing out like one of the great classics of American literature, this brutally real depiction of immigration is a wholly original tale, not one based on a previous work of fiction or real life, despite it no doubt resembling the many struggles immigrants continue to face today.

Having previously won an Oscar for his heart-breaking performance as real-life Holocaust survivor Wladyslaw Szpilman in Roman Polanski‘s “The Pianist”, Adrien Brody once again is tasked of conveying the sheer trauma Jews experienced during Hitler’s reign, in what is arguably the best work of his career. The Oscar-tipped Brody plays talented, Hungarian architect László Tóth, who is introduced in a remarkable long take sequence, setting the tone for the horrors yet to come, as well as reflecting on those in the past. We follow László has he makes his way through overcrowded and dimly lit corridors, mirroring his horrific recent experience as a survivor of the Buchenwald Concentration Camp. Initially unaware of his whereabouts, it is soon revealed that László has been navigating the bowels of a ship, with his face gleaming with happiness at the sight of The Statue of Liberty, a beacon of hope and the American Dream. As Daniel Blumberg‘s reverberating score booms over peripheral conversations, cinematographer Lol Crawley manages to twist expectations by flipping the imagery of the iconic landmark upside down, foreshadowing the illusion of the American Dream for László and his fellow immigrants.

We learn that László was forcibly separated from his wife Erzsébet (Felicity Jones) and niece Zsófia (Raffey Cassidy), both of whom have remained in Europe having survived time at Dachau. With nowhere else to turn, László travels to Philadelphia where he is given a job and place to stay by his cousin, furniture store owner Attila (Alessandro Nivola). A Bauhaus-trained architect, László is commissioned to renovate the library of a vast country estate owned by wealthy industrialist Harrison Lee Van Buren (Guy Pearce) at the behest of his son Harry (Joe Alwyn). Initially dismissive of László’s architectural vision, Harrison fires him and Atilla from the project, resulting in Atilla kicking out his cousin having deemed him responsible.

Years later, whilst living in a homeless shelter, a heroine addicted László is approached by a more appreciative Harrison, who states his library renovation has been lauded by the architectural community. Attending a party in his honour, László is commissioned to construct a grand project in tribute to Harrison’s late mother, a project that will ultimately last for years, further subjecting an increasingly traumatised László to xenophobia and abuse at the hands of his seemingly benevolent benefactors.

Seen as the current frontrunner for Oscar gold, “The Brutalist” has recieved widespread attention as a result of this current award season, and is well on its way to recuperating its unpresuming budget. They may have their critics, but this is what the Academy Awards should represent, bringing awareness to the boldest and most extravagant feats in filmmaking in a given year, and if it was not for this recognition, films like “The Brutalist” would tragically go unnoticed.

With its exploration of various weighty themes, in addition to its gargantuan runtime, there is no doubt that Corbet’s huge cinematic effort will be too challenging for the majority of cinemagoers. While I went in to my screening anxious as to how arduous the next four hours would be, I found myself so captivated by Corbet’s exemplary directorial achievement that the duration did not even occur to me. I even found myself glued to the screen during the fifteen minute interval, which kept me lingering as to what was to come by showing nothing more than a family photograph of the Tóths before they mercilessly separated by the Nazis in the 1940s.

Some may question its duration, but the lengthy runtime is more than justified by Corbet’s extensive exploration of several resonant themes that still plague society today. It is a film that could offer an entirely different viewing experience on any given rewatch, depending on what societal struggles are presently at the forefront of debate around the world. Intensified by the inauguration of President Trump, for his second term, immigration has been a huge topic of debate throughout modern, western society. While Hollywood has historically had a tendency to shy away from the stark realities of the immigrant experience, by spoon-feeding this falsehood of the American Dream of which the United States seems to pride itself on, “The Brutalist” portrays a frighteningly authentic tale of one man’s struggles to achieve this fairytale lifestyle.

Having been largely reduced to supporting roles since his historic Best Actor win in 2003, Brody is given a rare opportunity to fulfil his true acting potential here, and boy does he deliver. It is astonishing performance, one that sees Brody’s central character continuously overflowing with emotion, whether it be the joy of arriving in the Land of the Free, or the horror of realising his dear wife has been bound to a wheelchair as result of her wartime suffering. It truly is a gut-wrenching portrayal of a character who has had the whole world against him, even following the end of the second world war. These past traumas ultimately result in László being a flawed and complex character himself, one whose egotistical nature renders him blind to Harrison’s relentless displays of dominance. Blinded by his own genius, László is an artist continuously hindered by those who do not accept him, his vision or cultural background, and it is not until the arrival of his eagle-eyed wife Erzsébet in the second act, that both us and László are alerted to Harrison’s true intentions.

Pearce and Jones are equally excellent in their supporting roles, with the latter almost shifting the movie’s entire perspective in the immensely bleaker second half. Both characters display undeniable charm and intelligence, and are strong narrative foils for László, with both admiring his talents in their own unique way.

It is a remarkable tale, despite it being a work of fiction, Corbet and co-writer and partner Mona Fastvold have managed to create one of the great modern examples of American epics, one that will resonate with societal struggles throughout history as a result of its extensive ideologies, combined with its classical Hollywood structure. I still cannot fathom how a production of this scale and ambition was made on such a budget, I think it is a true testament to Corbet as a filmmaker, who has delivered one of the biggest modern achievements in filmmaking that should be admired for years to come, and should set the precedent as to what can still be achieved without the need of colossal budgets and Hollywood A-listers.

The Brutalist is now showing in UK Cinemas

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