December 20, 2024
by Carla Hay
Directed by Brady Corbet
Some language in Hungarian with subtitles
Culture Representation: Taking place in from 1947 to 1980, in the United States and partially in Europe, the dramatic film “The Brutalist” features a predominantly white cast of characters (with a few black people) representing the working-class, middle-class and wealthy.
Culture Clash: A Hungarian architect immigrates to America and settles in Pennsylvania, where he becomes entangled with a wealthy family who employs him, and he battles an addiction to opium.
Culture Audience: “The Brutalist” will appeal primarily to people who are fans of the movie’s headliners, filmmaker Brady Corbet and epic dramas about the American Dream.
“The Brutalist” tells an epic story about the pros and cons of the American Dream from the perspective of a brilliant but opium-addicted Hungarian immigrant architect. The acting performances are top-notch but the sprawling nature of this 215-minute film has some noticeable flaws. One of the biggest problems with “The Brutalist” is that a major question that comes up near the end of the film is never answered.
Directed by Brady Corbet (who co-wrote “The Brutalist” screenplay with Mona Fastvold), “The Brutalist” had its world premiere at the 2024 Venice International Film Festival and also screened at the 2024 New York Film Festival. “The Brutalist” (which takes place from 1947 to 1980) is named after the Brutalist style of minimalist architecture that is the specialty of Hungarian Jewish architect László Tóth (played by Adrien Brody), who arrives in New York Harbor on a crowded ship with other immigrants who want to start a new life in the United States. During this trip, László tries opium for the first time. It’s the start of an addiction that lasts for decades in László’s life.
László, who was a celebrated architect in Hungary, has left behind his loyal and loving wife Erzsébet Tóth (played Felicity Jones) and their niece Zsófia, who is being raised by László and Erzsébet because Zsófia’s parents died during World War II. László was separated from his family during the Holocaust, so he doesn’t even know for sure if Erzsébet and Zsófia are still alive when he leaves for America. However, he relies on friends in Hungary to look for Erzsébet and Zsófia. If Erzsébet and Zsófia are still alive, László plans to earn enough money so Erzsébet and Zsófia can immigrate to the United States and live with him.
László settles in Philadelphia, where his cousin Atilla (played by Alessandro Nivola) lives with his much-younger American wife Audrey (played by Emma Laird), who is Catholic. Atilla hides his Jewish heritage by pretending to be a gentile with a furniture store/construction business called Miller and Sons, where László works closely with Atilla. László also lives with Atilla and Audrey when László first arrives in the United States. Audrey becomes the reason why the relationship between Atilla and László eventually changes.
Attila and László are hired by a spoiled, wealthy heir named Harry Van Buren (played by Joe Alwyn) to remodel a library in the Van Buren mansion. It’s here that László first shows his penchant for the minimalist Brutalist style that later give him acclaim in the United States. Harry’s domineering and manipulative father Harrison Lee Van Buren Sr. (played by Guy Pearce), who goes by the nickname Lee, initially berates László for the remodeling job but then later hires László to design and build a massive community center. The building complex (located in Doylestown, Pennsylvania) is supposed to be a namesake tribute to Harrison’s deceased mother Margaret Lee Van Buren, who had a rocky relationship with Lee.
Much of “The Brutalist” is about László’s work on this massive project while he battles his addiction to opium, particularly heroin. László’s closest friend during this time is his co-worker Gordon (played by Isaach de Bankolé), who is also addicted to opium. Erzsébet and a teenage Zsófia (played by Raffey Cassidy) eventually come to live with László, who becomes more dependent on the Van Buren family when Harrison gets journalist Erzsébet a job at a newspaper in New York City. Erzsébet uses a wheelchair because she got osteoporosis (a bone disease) while she experienced famine during the Holocaust. Other characters in the movie include Harry’s twin sister Maggie (played by Stacy Martin) and building contractor Leslie Woodrow (played by Jonathan Hyde), a longtime associate of the Van Buren family.
“The Brutalist” takes its time but often gets repetitive in showing the push-and-pull power dynamics between László and Harrison. The movie’s tone gets very dark, including showing cruel antisemitism and a shocking sexual assault. The total running time for “The Brutalist” might test the patience of some viewers, even with the movie’s built-in 15-minute intermission. However, “The Brutalist” is a master class in acting, with Brody, Peace and Jones leading the way in this impactful story that is about people fighting not just for their version of the American Dream but also for what they want their legacies to be.
A24 released “The Brutalist” in select U.S. cinemas on December 20, 2024, The movie will be released on digital and VOD on February 18, 2025.
