Rating: 9/10
The American Dream means many things to different people. For some, it may be the hope of a better future for themselves and their families; for others, it might be a goal for success. Director Brady Corbet explores this notion with his newest film, “The Brutalist.”
“The Brutalist” is one of the newest releases from independent film distributor and producer A24 and stars Adrien Brody, Felicity Jones and Guy Pearce.
The film follows the life of fictional architect László Tóth (Brody) after the Holocaust and the end of World War II as he integrates into the United States as a Hungarian-Jewish immigrant. We see the different points of his time in America and the people in his life as they come and go.
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Brody’s performance is at the center of the film. He portrays a character broken by the war, the suffering his people went through and the stigma aimed at refugees like him. This forces him to look into his identity and question whether or not he will let his new home change who he is.
Brody was not the only standout, as Jones and Pearce shone in their respective roles. Jones plays László’s wife, Erzsébet, who is separated from László for several years. This separation causes slight resentment from László as Erzsébet begins to integrate into American society, while her husband had been fairly acclimated by then.
Pearce plays Harrison Lee Van Buren, a wealthy industrialist who hires László for a new building he wants made. Although Harrison appears caring to László and his family, he uses an underlying sense of hostility to manipulate them. Pearce plays this role with such hidden malice that his character is unpredictable and compelling.
Another major highlight of “The Brutalist” is its use of VistaVision, a filming system that creates a wider and clearer image when projected. It works for the film as it presents many breathtaking landscapes and buildings that use most of the frame.
For reference, “The Brutalist” was not shot digitally but on 35 mm film, then printed onto 70 mm film. Most movie theaters use digital projections, but some locations still have film projectors, such as the Music Box Theatre in Chicago, which showed “The Brutalist” in 70 mm.
This is important, as your experience with the film might vary depending on where you watch it. In an interview with the Toronto International Film Festival, Corbet explained why “The Brutalist” had to be shot on VistaVision.
“The reason we wanted to shoot the film on that format was for two reasons, one is that it is a technology that was developed during the time when the movie is set — so that was kind of a no-brainer,” Corbet said in the TIFF interview. “The other thing is that its field of view is quite extraordinary.”
If you want to experience the film as it was intended to be shown, a 70 mm presentation is highly recommended. However, these screenings are fairly difficult to locate, and tickets to “The Brutalist” are already scarce.
A common trend with movies last year was limited releases, and “The Brutalist” followed this pattern. The film was shown in several different film festivals before its limited release on Dec. 20. Even then, the limited release was restricted to New York and Los Angeles.
The film is in many more cities now after its wide release on Jan. 10. This finally gives general audiences a chance to catch the movie that has won several awards, including Best Motion Picture for Drama, Best Director and Best Actor for Drama at the Golden Globes.
“The Brutalist” is a film that is as powerful as it is beautiful and full of heart. There’s a reason the film has already won awards, and all of them are undoubtedly well-deserved.
