It's been a long while since I saw a film with an intermission, and if any film needs one it's "The Brutalist." This is Brady Corbet's epic immigrant chronicle of a Hungarian-Jewish man named László Tóth (Adrien Brody), who arrives in the U.S. in 1947. Initially, László stays with his Philadelphia cousin Attila (Alessandro Nivola) and Attila's wife Audrey (Emma Laird). We learn about László little by little as he struggles to make his way in America. We know that his wife Erzsébet (Felicity Jones) and niece Zsófia (Raffey Cassidy) are still in Europe, and László hopes to bring them over to the U.S. as soon as he can. We know that he's been deeply affected by the war, and develops a heroin addiction to deal with the pain, but stubbornly holds on to his pride and identity. Then László takes a job for a rich industrialist, Harrison Lee Van Buren (Guy Pearce), and the truth about László is revealed.
I don't want to say much more about the plot of "The Brutalist," because I think one of the chief pleasures of watching the film is learning all the information about László's past incrementally. There's a very deliberate separation between the two halves of the movie, where we meet László as an individual trying to make his way in America, and then as part of a married couple trying to reconcile themselves with their histories and their traumas. I will say that it's rare to see a film that is so dense with themes and ideas - the Jewish experience, the immigrant experience, the cost of art, and the predatory nature of the wealthy and privileged. Mostly, however, it's a film about how America works - the folly of the American dream and how so much of its greatness is due to the efforts of exploited immigrant talent. Corbet puts a lot of work into evoking a particular time and attitude in America's past - the postwar 1950s when Brutalist architecture and modernist music were signalling a break from old norms, and a desire to create something new and essential.
"The Brutalist" is easily Corbet's most accessible film, because putting aside all the grand notions of art and industry, the story boils down to László's relationships with Van Buren and his wife. Adrien Brody delivers the performance of his career as this terribly wounded, haunted man who comes to America to try and start over. He says very little at first, but his physical state tells us everything. Every scene of him waiting in bread lines and sleeping in storage rooms is engrossing. Every introduction to a new person, and every conversation sheds new insights on how he perceives himself, and where he might fit into the social order. The first half of "The Brutalist" is stronger because the narrative is simpler and less complicated, but also because it's so fascinating to watch László reclaim his humanity in the wake of tragedy, coming back to life again after coming too close to death.
The second half of the film is more difficult, putting our characters in less certain territory. Guy Pearce and Felicity Jones earn their Oscar nods - Jones in particular delivers a performance of far more substance and weight than I've ever seen from her. Erzsébet has suffered more than László physically, but mentally and spiritually she's far stronger, and I love how forward she is. Meanwhile, Guy Pearce has been dependably good in villain roles, and Van Buren is certainly a memorable one. However, he has a difficult character arc, with too much implied and a final fate that's proved controversial with viewers. I don't mind Corbet's use of narrative ellipses, but it does feel like a well-meaning producer decided three and a half hours was enough, and cut the last hour of the film in favor of an abbreviated epilogue.
There has been some controversy around the use of AI to make some of the Hungarian dialogue sound more Hungarian. I highly doubt viewers will notice, and the pronunciation corrections have absolutely no effect on how moving the performances are from Adrien Brody and Felicity Jones. Likewise, you can see where a lot of corners were cut with the production of "The Brutalist" if you start looking, but it doesn't take away from the larger picture, which is a very singular, personal artistic vision, executed with uncommon skill.
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