THE BRUTALIST Review: Small-Scale Turned Into Epic Brilliance

Introduction

Epic in scope, but smaller in scale, director Brady Corbet manages a small miracle in turning his new film The Brutalist into a grand thematic statement on the life of immigrants in a post-World War II America without preaching to or boring the audience.

For a film that rarely strays from a few geographical miles apart, Corbet manages to shove dozens of ideas in without being the film’s main focus. With a 215-minute runtime (including a 15-minute timed intermission), the patience afforded to the filmmaker is well worth it to discover more packed layers of these characters and their motivations. 

Synopsis

Adrien Brody stars as László Tóth, a Hungarian-Jewish immigrant, and newly arrived in New York following World War II. Despite surviving the Holocaust, László has been forcibly separated from his wife Erzsébet (Felicity Jones) and niece Zsófia (Raffey Cassidy). László travels to Philadelphia to help his cousin Attila (an always-welcome Alessandro Nivola) design and sell furniture.

László and Attila renovate the library of local industrialist Harrison Lee Van Buren (Guy Pearce) as a surprise, but Harrison throws them out and refuses to pay, causing Attila to László. Relatively homeless and becoming increasingly addicted to heroin, László begins working odd construction jobs. Harrison tracks him down after his library is mentioned in a popular magazine. Harrison hires him to design and construct a community center in memory of his late mother.

Themes/Length

To say there is more to the story within The Brutalist would be an understatement. The above description doesn’t even make it to the halfway point of the film. The film is in no way overly plotty, but a lot goes on. László keeps dealing with forces out of his control and that are of his own making, in trying to survive.

It’s also not a situation where László is trying to become some sort of kingpin. He just wants to live in relative peace and harmony with his wife and niece. The world just doesn’t allow for any of that to happen, no matter what he does to prove himself.

Things aren’t perfect. But, when a film decides to go this big and grand while keeping things relatively small-scale, it’s easy to nitpick. I can pick at the half-dozen or so issues I had with the film, but those are small gripes in the grand scheme of things.

Does the film need to be this long? Probably not. Do I have small problems with some narrative choices? Yes. Does it really matter when it is all done with this much adeptness and narrative ambition? It certainly does not. I will say, that I certainly never felt the length.

Cast/Crafts

Brody is pretty magnificent. With the last 20 years of experience with the actor, there is an on-screen expectation of what to expect from him. But as László, he cultivates a unique character full of empathy and sorrow, but also an unhinged darkness lingering just under the surface. His accent takes a minute to get on board with, but his utter commitment to the bit is more than enough to get you on his side.

Pearce is expertly suited to the role he is given, wavering between likeability and uptight righteousness. Always viewed as one of the most underrated actors of his generation, this performance will surely bring him into mainstream awards conversations.

Also, Jones doesn’t show up until after the intermission, but she posits herself well. She is the closest thing to a normal, well-rounded human in the group, and has a standout scene near the film’s climax. Nivola, Cassidy, Joe Alwyn, Stacy Martin, and Isaach de Bankole all add excellent smaller performances.

Lensed with sweeping grandiosity by Lol Crawley and featuring one of the best original scores I’ve heard in a long time by Daniel Blumberg, the craftsmanship across the board is top-notch. The costume design is excellent, but not overdone. The art direction is similarly a bit grungier than you would expect. There is an air of danger lurking around every corner with Corbet orchestrating the atmosphere and the craftsman executing his vision.

Conclusion

The Brutalist is undeniable. Despite its extensive length, Brady Corbet and Adrien Brody combine to create the genre of small-scale epic. It’s also one of the best films of the year

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