This weekend, the highly awarded and anticipated film “The Brutalist” will be released in theaters everywhere. I was lucky enough to see it in a preview screening, and I’m here to give you the premise of the film, the highs and lows, and if you should watch it.
This film is the third movie Brady Corbet has directed by himself, previously creating projects with other famous actors such as Natalie Portman, Tom Holland, and Robert Pattinson. However, neither of his previous two films were as liked as his latest film. The 3 hour 35 minute film follows a jewish foreign architect, László Tóth (Adrien Brody), who moves from Hungary to Philadelphia in an attempt to escape the Holocaust. He lives with his cousin, working as a coal miner until a wealthy industrialist, Harrison Lee Van Buren (Guy Pearce), hires him to design a community center on his land. László becomes close to the Lee Van Buren family, staying in their home and creating friendly relationships with them. As this is going on, László is constantly writing letters back and forth with his wife Erzsébet Toth (Felicity Jones) and his niece Zsófia (Raffey Cassidy) as he waits for them to join him in Philadelphia.
If I had to summarize this movie in one word, it would be fabulous. The direction of the film, especially in the opening scene, is wonderful and makes one wonder as to why Brady Corbet hasn’t directed more major motion pictures. Adrien Brody gives a masterful performance as a drug addicted immigrant who struggles with personal power while being controlled. However, this is not the only standout performance in this film, as Guy Pearce gives an encapsulating performance- one of the most powerful and scary of the year. However, both performances are outshone by the most underrated performance and character of 2024, Harry Lee Van Buren, Harrison Lee Van Buren’s son, played by Joe Alwyn. Alwyn’s film career started in 2016 in the Ang Lee directed movie, ‘Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk,’ in which Alwyn plays the lead, Billy Lynn. Since then he has made 15 more movies, all building up to this masterpiece in acting which is the climax of his career so far. Only 33, Alwyn has plenty of time to create more beautiful performances, however he could retire now knowing he’s given one of the all-time great performances I’ve ever seen.
The runtime of this film is daunting and may put some people off from watching it. However, about 1 hour 40 minutes into the movie, there is a 15 minute intermission. This intermission is met with the lights turning back on in the theater and giving people the opportunity to use the bathroom or get a refill on popcorn. Not only is it a nice break from sitting in a theater for so long, but splitting the movie up into two parts makes it seem shorter. The parts are also very distinct, and when thinking back on the movie you can clearly and easily remember which part a scene was in. While many films will have an intermission, mostly those are very brief, maybe two to three minutes, similar to Stanley Kubrick’s ‘2001: A Space Odyssey’. This originality along with the story’s originality makes the film stand out and is exactly why it is getting all the deserved praise.
This is one of the greatest films of the decade, and maybe further down the line, this will be known as one of the greatest films ever made. So if you want to get a head start on the historians and tell your future children or grandchildren you were one of the individuals who saw this film when it was released, I urge you to see it. This film will make you walk out of the theater saying, “Man, that was brutal,” but in a good way.