"The Brutalist": A Review

  

Adrien Brody

The addition of Adrien Brody in a film doesn’t necessarily mean the film will be good, but it’s a sure bet that he will deliver a stellar performance. 

This time, Brody lends his talents to The Brutalist, a low-budget but high in acting-directing storyline film about a visionary architect who escapes postwar Europe and returns to America to rebuild his life, career, and marriage. On his own in a strange new country, he settles in Pennsylvania, where a wealthy and prominent industrialist recognizes his talent. 

The film, co-written by director Brady Corbet and Mona Fastvold, traces the misery of Brody’s character, László Tóth, a fictional Hungarian Jew who is a stubborn yet genius architect who is also subject to perfectionism and rage. 

While in a Nazi concentration camp, Tóth’s captors were eager to deem his creations as “not Germanic in character.”

The film starts with lots of drama – as we watch Tóth, who is more than a little nervous, make his way to freedom.

Once he hits the States, he gets a job at his cousin Attila’s (Alessandro Nivola)

furniture shop.  He sleeps in a glorified closet and is happy to do so because he’s free. Working in the furniture shop is cool, but he needs and wants more. 

Tóth’s life changes when he gets hired by a wealthy person’s son to remodel his library while he’s away from home. The father, Harrison, is played by Guy Pearce. Unfortunately for Tóth, Harrison is unhappy with his home being renovated without permission. Harrison decides he’s not going to pay for the renovation. 

To make matters worse, Attila kicks Tóth out of his home. The result is dramatic for Tóth, who begins to have an unhealthy addiction.

To make ends meet, Tóth finds a meaningless job. One day, Harrison surprises him at the job and apologizes for his previous behavior regarding the renovations in the library. 

When Harrison learns that Tóth is actually an architect, he invites him into his world of wealth and introduces him to the upper crust. Eventually, Harrison tries to control Tóth, crossing many lines. 

The story, sometimes agonizingly painful to watch, is bursting with identity and ambition. 

At its core, The Brutalist is inspirational. The more than three-hour film allows room for the many subjects jammed into this drama. 

“The Brutalist” is a story about class, architecture, inequity, freedom, addiction, immigration, violence, Zionism, family, and more. Luckily for the moviegoer – not a frame is wasted. 

It would take way too long to talk about every crevice of this movie. Each is the magical ingredient needed to make it one of the best movies of 2024. 

Brody boldly brings ‘The Brutalist’ to life.  His performance is worthy of all the accolades he’s receiving. 

While it’s a big story – the story feels intimate. 

The film is called “The Brutalist” because any builder who works in the imposing minimalist school of post-World War 11 architecture is known as brutalism.

Don’t sleep on ‘The Brutalist.’

“The Brutalist, directed by Brady Corbet,” stars Adrien Brody (Laszlo Toth), Felicity Jones (Erzsebet Toth), Guy Pearce, Joe Alwyn, Rafey Cassidy, Emma Laird, Natalie Shinnick, Jonathan Hyde, Stacy Martin, Vanessa Kirby, Alessandro Nivola, Isaach de Bankole, Michael Epp, Ariane Labed, Matt Devere, Jeremy Wheeler, Peter Linka, Jaymes Butler, Peter Polycarpou, Nick Wittman, Stephen Saracco, and Mark Rylance.

On the DONLOE SCALE: D (don’t bother), O (oh, no), N (needs work), L (likable), O (oh, yeah), and E (excellent); The Brutalist gets an E (excellent). 

In English, Italian, and Polish, with English subtitles

Rated: R for strong sexual content, graphic nudity, rape, drug use, and some language

Running time: 3 hours, 35 minutes