The Brutalist
The Brutalist is playing in theaters at the time of writing. Rated R. Common Sense says 17+.
When a visionary architect (Adrien Brody) and his wife (Felicity Jones) flee post-war Europe in 1947 to rebuild their legacy and witness the birth of the modern United States, their lives are changed forever by a mysterious, wealthy client (Guy Pearce).
STORY: A
This epic allegory grabs hold and doesn’t let go.
On its surface, the story is enough to enthrall you throughout its massive runtime. But it’s the film’s incisive subtext - the consequences of American capitalism colliding with the immigrant experience - that builds the story up to its transcendent heights.
PEOPLE: A
Every performance is far from brutal.
Adrien Brody bares his broken soul in every single frame. Guy Pearce balances charm and smarm like few others have done before. And Felicity Jones’s granite-chiseled soul stoically serves as the universe’s chief critic and conscience.
FILM NERD STUFF: A+
The below-the-line work is just as magnificent as everything above it.
Not a second goes by when the cinematography, production design, and music aren’t working together to captivate us. Which is saying a lot, since the film is approximately 12.840 seconds long.
Brady Corbet’s opening scene announces that Laszlo isn’t the only master architect at work here. We watch Laszlo emerge from the suffocating confines of a steam ship to lay eyes on Lady Liberty. The Statue of Liberty is shown from an angle I don’t think I’ve ever seen before. Without a word, Corbet’s askew image tells us Laszlo may have arrived at the land of opportunities, but he can’t expect things to go the way he’s always pictured.
ONE BIG LESSON: A+
We’re the ones who’ve built many of the structures that keep us from recognizing each other’s humanity.
Capitalism isn’t the natural order of the universe. It’s the way we’ve currently decided to organize our society.
The only reason immigrants exist is because we’ve made a choice that certain swaths of lands should have different names and rules than other swaths of land.
I’m not arguing against the idea of capitalism or of countries, and I don’t believe The Brutalist is either. But it implores us to investigate the many ways these ideas harm people (all people) and to ponder how we can adapt our systems for the benefit of all.
FINAL COMMENTS:
On just about every level, this film is an absolute masterpiece.