User reviews

This ambitious post-war American epic begins with a mesmerising long-take sequence which will surely stick longer than the 3:35 hours of running time. The 70mm format fits the setting while making the movie visually stunning alongside with audacious camera works and stunning photography. Blumberg's music adds on that so the theatre would definitely be its perfect habitat. The script delivers interesting characters - albeit the secondary ones are purely cosmetic - valorised by great performances from Brody and Pearce. The issue here is in the last hour, as the writers decided to insert unexplored subplots which will prevent the movie from having a proper conclusion thus leaving a bitter feeling of incompleteness and preventing this monumental project to achieve what was intended for.

The Brutalist is full of surprises. The characters are not who you expect - not in the Scooby Doo ending kinda way, but in the more subtle, incremental ways that real people reveal themselves - they unfurl over time, in new context, or when forced by circumstance.

Here the circumstance is post-WWII-horror. Adrien Brody's Laszlo, a jewish architect who escaped the clutches of bloody Europe, ekes into the welcoming arms of America - or is confronted by them - in a frenetic opening sequence that evokes being literally birthed by the Statue of Liberty. His becomes a journey of perpetually navigating life's variety of horrors: existential, professional, familial, intimate - never taking his eyes off the prize of grand achievement, and never assessing the value of that prize to begin with. What's the lesson?

Is it the shameful discovery that his success wasn't born in spite of his trauma, but because of it? Do we owe a debt to abuse? To the forces of culture, country, power and those who wield it, in the building of our brutal legacies (and homelands)? Are our lives gasoline that gets burned up en route to some place more meaningful?

The movie is charming, cool looking, and not boring (did you hear it was long?). It feels like it's based on an old novel - a mysterious tome that I would love to mine for some of the details the movie refuses to share. But there is no novel. This aging Man's search for meaning becomes ours as well. And any greater understanding of Lazslo's arrival, his families' machinations, his country and rootlessness, for better or worse, feels up to us to construct.

Rating - 9.1: Overall, a great epic that both pays homage to the time period and revolutionizes how we can tell stories, as it shows what can be done with such a low budget, all brought together by great filmmaking, profound writing, and an incredible performance from Adrien Brody.

Direction - Great: The direction on a macroscale is grand as this movie feels like an epic that emulates films from the time period it portrays; the direction on a microscale is great as the interpersonal scenes really paint who these characters are and the struggles they go through; the storytelling is great, it tackles many serious topics in an artsy way, and the movie really does feel like a modern-day Godfather with how they told this epic; they build tension incredibly well as you genuinely experience second-hand trauma from what you see these characters experience

Story - Great: The concept is amazing, as the movie is an epic that displays the hardships of trying to live the 'American Dream', as we see through the lens of troubled László Toth; the plot structure is very good, as it emulates epics that were popular from the time-period the movie takes place in; the character writing is amazing, as László Toth has many dimensions to him, especially with all that he experiences as he goes through this movie, and the supporting cast really does have many dimensions to them as well

Screenplay - Great: The dialogue is polished and profound; the symbolism is incredibly profound as the movie tackles many hard topics like addiction, trauma, and the immigrant experience to show the protagonist's shell-shocked experience of trying to live the 'American Dream'; the foreshadowing is great as it is used well in conjunction with tension to build a captivating climax

Acting - Very Good: Adrien Brody - Incredible (Feels like an extension of his performance from "The Pianist" as he accurately and profoundly displays the trauma and addictions this character goes through as he tries to navigate his "American Dream"), Felicity Jones - Very Good (A powerful performance, as you can tell the hardships she has to go through to come to America; she has amazing chemistry with Brody), Guy Pearce - Great (A truly commanding figure as you always feel a sense of uneasiness around him; he has good chemistry with Brody as their dynamic makes you feel very invested in both characters), Joe Alwyn - Good (The typical spoiled, rich son does a good job supporting the rest of the cast), Isaach de Bankolé - Pretty Good (Has good chemistry with each other as both do a good job trying to display the hardships of trying to experience the 'American Dream'), Alessandro Nivola - Good (Does a good job showing how his character is able to code-switch and assimilate with American culture as he seamlessly transitions from his past and present when interacting with Brody), Rest of the cast - Pretty Good to Good (Everyone does their job as everyone feels experienced in trying to progress the movie forward; the cast has very good chemistry)

Score - Great: Paints this movie as an epic and is used well to establish the tone of the movie

Cinematography - Great: Paints this movie as an epic as it makes this movie feel like an art piece with how grand it is; does so much with both film and a low budget; the imagery for the movie really does feel amazing

Editing - Great: Really makes this movie feel like an art piece as it is seamless and used well in conjunction with the direction and cinematography

Sound - Good: It gives the movie a 1960s feel; it helps build tension

Production Design - Good: It helps in portraying the time period and the world László Toth deals with

Costumes - Good: Helps portray the time period

Pacing - Pacing is good as it adequately goes through the 3.5-hour runtime to create this grand epic

Climax - Climax is executed incredibly as the final 40 minutes before the epilogue really feel captivating in a traumatizing way; the epilogue is fine, but does not really feel like it ends the movie as strong as the second part

Tone - Tone is traditional to epics from the time period, and at some moments the style feels like a modern-day Godfather

Final Notes - I saw a premiere at the Austin Film Festival in 35mm film; it does so much with such a small budget; I have never been so impacted by a movie emotionally as I have been with this movie.

There's no way everyone else watched the same movie I did. Boring script, weird editing, terrible pacing, and literal goofy power point transitions. Felicity Jones and Adrien Brody both have better performances. It's so incredibly long but there are still unresolved plot points. Nothing burger of a movie with nothing to really say. When it comes to architect movies this year, Megalopolis was more entertaining at least. I will be very upset if this wins best picture over Anora. Also Felicity Jones literally came onto stage after and told us this was basically the first draft. I unfortunately believe this was very obvious.