Time: 215 Minutes
Age Rating: R16 – Rape, sex scenes & drug use
Cast:
Adrien Brody as László Tóth
Felicity Jones as Erzsébet Tóth
Guy Pearce as Harrison Lee Van Buren
Joe Alwyn as Harry Lee Van Buren
Raffey Cassidy as Zsófia
Stacy Martin as Maggie Van Buren
Alessandro Nivola as Attila
Emma Laird as Audrey
Isaach de Bankolé as Gordon
Director: Brady Corbet

I had been meaning to watch The Brutalist. I knew that it was a massive player in this awards season, starring Adrien Brody, Felicity Jones and Guy Pearce, and was made by Vox Lux director Brady Corbet. Having seen it, I think it’s safe to say that it lived up to all the acclaim and is definitely one of the best movies of 2024.

All the reviews calling The Brutalist as ‘epic’ and ‘grandiose were not exaggerations at all; it is a massive movie at 3.5 hours and has so much to it. After watching, I wouldn’t have minded if it was 4 hours long. The runtime goes by surprisingly fast, and the movie is engaging and fascinating from beginning to end. It’s a grand yet intimate story about the immigrant experience of coming to America and trying to fit into a society that doesn’t want you, as well as the experience of being an artist struggling to express free will and creativity under capitalism. There’s a lot here, definitely a lot of room for analysis, and almost too much to digest in one viewing that I am actually curious to revisit it. The Brutalist is a film of two very different halves, separated by a built in 15 minute long intermission (probably didn’t need to be that long). The first half is hopeful and optimistic, the second half is far more emotionally heavy and almost serves as a reality check, and I can understand why some people are mixed on the latter. Personally, I think that it was just about as good as the first half and was necessary, even if it didn’t quite have the same level of energy (but it made sense for the story). Another criticism was aimed at the epilogue and I’m still figuring out how I feel about it too. Initially I didn’t think it was necessary but upon further thought, I think I’m on board with what Corbet was going for, though I might need a rewatch to be sure about how I feel about it.

As protagonist László Tóth, Adrien Brody is phenomenal, grounded, compelling, and captivating, and delivers one of his best performances, maybe even his best. Felicity Jones is great, and Guy Pearce is a standout and commands the screen, delivering the best work I’ve seen from him. Raffey Cassidy, Joe Alwyn, Stacy Martin, Alessandro Nivola and Isaach de Bankole also deliver really good supporting performances.

Brady Corbet’s direction is all around incredible. One thing that’s especially noteworthy is the fact that it was made for $10 million, because Corbet made the most out of it, with the end result feeling like he was working with a budget 5 times its actual size. The cinematography is impeccable, lush and stunning, the production design is outstanding (unsurprising for a movie about an architect), and the score from Daniel Blumburg is suitably pompous and triumphant. It was quite an experience watching this in the cinemas.

The Brutalist is an ambitious, complex, monumental and masterfully made epic, phenomenally directed and with fantastic performances from Adrien Brody, Felicity Jones and Guy Pearce. It’s one of 2024’s very best films and well worth checking out.