What’s it about?

Escaping postwar Europe, a visionary architect comes to America to rebuild his life, his career, and his marriage. On his own in a strange new country, he settles in Pennsylvania, where a wealthy and prominent industrialist gives him an opportunity.

What did we think?

You could describe The Brutalist in a number of ways: stark, ambitious, unflinching, realistic… but probably the best single adjective is uncompromising.  Both the director and main character hold to their vision often to their detriment.

At three-and-a-half hours (including a 15-minute intermission), the film has the room to both explore characters’ depths and indulge itself and director Brady Corbett’s slavish focus could have used some more fleshing out.

Having said that, the first half of the film is simply incredible. The exploration of a Holocast survivor’s emotional rollercoaster of joy at escape to a new life where his previous experience means nothing and the struggle to reunite with the love of his life are inspired and Adrien Brody’s performance is truly masterful. As is Guy Pearce’s robber baron  – think Rockefeller – whose inability to actually understand art is only matched by his desperation to be associated with it. 

The film deliberately ignores narrative structure and embraces multiples themes and hints at subplots without fully exploring them. It’s just a shame the change of tone for the second half was so pronounced it felt a little jarring. 

The attention to detail makes the film feel like a biopic (it’s purely fiction) and that only adds to the emotional impact.

Quite simply, this is an incredible film that – at the very least – you will appreciate.  Your may not enjoy it, or you may love it while not enjoying some of the more intense moments, but it will stay with you regardless.