Here are my thoughts walking into the theater to see The Brutalist today knowing it has a 3.5 hour run time: “No problem, I’m an adult, and if I want to leave I will leave.” Also, “Every minute of this film better be vital.” And of course, “Should I get the bigger popcorn for this full-time investment in my day?” Fair warning, my theater didn’t even play trailers so arrive on time; and there is a long 15 minute intermission so you don’t have to worry about missing anything.
Purposeful imagery, essential dialogue and important themes the whole time? No. But I couldn’t tell you what to leave out. The story itself is okay but not compelling enough for an film of this length. Adrien Brody plays László Tóth, a Hungarian Jewish architect who arrives in America hoping to achieve the American Dream. Right at the beginning, we learn his wife (Felicity Jones) and niece who he left behind are also survivors, so he’s anxious to bring them over. His American cousin sort of takes him in and gets him a gig designing a library for a local millionaire Harrison Lee Van Buren (Guy Pearce). This project along with his previous work as an architect gets him a big commission by Van Buren to build a community center on his property.
This film is loud. It is especially noticeable in the beginning and carries through the credits. The sound is intrusive and feels chaotic. My brain had a hard time seeing through the noise and focusing to reconcile the fight between sight and sound. If intentional, it makes me think that Tóth also battles these sorts of mental intrusions and uses drugs to calm the chaos.
Adrien Brody is often in the Oscar nominated movies. How are the same people always given the best roles? I am not criticizing, just noticing. He is fantastic. He deserves all the accolades. Brody makes others in a scene look better. Felicity Jones took a minute to grow on me. Her initial appearance feels distant but then her character blooms and offers more strength than Tóth could ever deliver. The niece doesn’t speak until she suddenly does. So that was weird. We meet Van Buren (Pearce) when he comes in shouting in repetitive dialogue, (was it his first day on set?). I could never get over how bad it was, so every scene with him kind of made me cringe.
The cinematography is big and thoughtful and shines light on the structures Tóth is creating. But there is this overwhelming darkness that shadows the characters. There are uncomfortable scenes. Some even shocking. They felt out of place and turgid. The characters all seem to subscribe to some level of cynicism. It’s the antithesis of hope I think to applaud the destination rather than the journey, so that ending left me conflicted and exhausted.