In The Brutalist, Adrien Brody is Lászlo Tóth, a brilliant architect who arrives in America and starts from the bottom to build his American Dream. Through a chance opportunity, he’s employed by the ultra-wealthy Harrison Lee Van Buren Sr. (Guy Pearce) to create a one-of-a-kind architectural marvel, a moonshot project reminiscent of Citizen Kane’s Xanadu.
His proximity to wealth and power changes his life, letting him truly indulge his artistic vision and provide for his intelligent, observant, wheelchair-bound wife Erzsébet (Felicity Jones).
But there’s a dark side.
The film is filled with an ominous lingering unease like we’re waiting for the other shoe to drop. There’s something rotten at the core of this journey and the tension helps hold our attention for the three-and-a-half hour runtime.
The immigrant’s journey story is very compelling, dealing with assimilation, survival, and the need for acceptance from those in power. Laszlo is a complex character, and Brody is impressive, as always. Likewise, Pearce delivers one of his best performances, making Van Buren simultaneously charismatic and menacing.
At over three-and-a-half hours, the film mercifully gives audiences an intermission, leaning into the overall old-school cinematic feel. It’s a great opportunity to reflect on the first half and linger with the story elements before you dive into part two…which is, unfortunately, where the film started to lose me.
It feels like this story is building to a point of catharsis that just never comes. There are small conclusions here and there, but the ending left me unsatisfied, particularly the epilogue, which didn’t feel like it fit with the rest of the film.
It’s not that I wanted a Hollywood happily ever after, but I wanted some kind of resolution for this long journey, and the movie makes a point to not deliver that. A bold choice, but one that just didn’t work for me.
I may be tired of generic, four-quadrant, cinematic mac and cheese movies, but I’m also not a fan of the very obviously festival and award season type of movies that feel indulgent in a pretentious way like they’re more concerned with accolades than actually telling a story. While I loved the first half, the post-intermission half of The Brutalist fell into that category.
It’s not that I would advise you against watching this movie—the strong performances and cinematography are definitely worthwhile—but given the length and the lack of a real resolution, it might be easier to watch at home than to enjoy in Vistavision in a theater.
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