Writer and director Brady Corbet is the champion of his craft with The Brutalist. A jolt to cinematic ambience that is mind-boggling and daring. A film that is set up chronologically in acts to vividly compel its audiences to want more. Laid out with an overture, separate acts, and an epilogue, The Brutalist gives its audience a chance to refuel their brains. At a running time of three hours and thirty-five minutes, there is a fifteen-minute intermission.

This drama of wonders is all centered-on Laszlo Toth (played by Adrien Brody). Laszlo is an architect that is vivid with his craft. His wife is Erzebet Toth (played by Felicity Jones). Laszlo and Erzebet escape from the post-war Europe in the year of 1947. Laszlo’s goal is to rebuild with his fascinating architecture. It is a swift period where industries, businesses, and landscapes play a role in the profits for projects to start up. It is a journey that encounters trial and error, while also building legacies for a bigger meaning. In examining the performance of Brody, he is destined to be Laszlo. The dedication he conveys paints a portrait of artistic fascination where there are no bounds.

The film paces itself—Laszlo finds himself in struggles with rebuilding his reputation at first. Also, trying to reconnect with his wife to start a new beginning poses a challenge. Corbet’s writing and continuity are vast with many dreams floating through the mind of Laszlo—he wants a life of success, but his passion for architecture leads to discord on many fronts. The times are heavy with political conflicts tying into other stressors and creating a presence of darkness.  As Laszlo realizes he is in front of the Statue of Liberty, he becomes destined to create opportunity for those he soon encounters in The Brutalist. 

The dark and successful days of Laszlo battle each other once he begins to work with clients. He starts to do work with Attila (played by Alessandro Nivola). This is a steppingstone, but then he gets a more rewarding opportunity. He is offered a commission to design a grand modernist monument. The one who gives him this job is Harrison Van Buren (played by Guy Pearce). Harrison’s son Harry Lee (played by Joe Alwyn) is also involved. This provides Laszlo with food, shelter, and a place for his wife Erzebet, but he questions if this is all of what he truly wants. The themes of wealth and greed play a role in the turmoil of Laszlo’s vision. With it being the era of modern America, The Brutalist loops in technological factors of to bedeeply frightening, stressful, and invigorating. 

Laszlo is his own scholar—attempting to make his craft and vision of what he wants to be unforgettable begins to be more than he can bear. The film’s depiction of Laszlo finding his ways to ease his stress and anger create an eerie presence. There is a lot to take in with The Brutalist. With the factor of modernization moving forward (after World War II), The Brutalist is an evolving reality of success with a trail of happiness waiting to be fulfilled. However, can Laszlo succeed at what he is assigned? Can he trust the egotistical wealthy minds surrounding the Van Buren family? Can he make the right choices and trust that life will be safe for Erzebet? There are many moving parts in The Brutalist. All of which challenge their own demons poetically and cinematically. It is authentic in its form of depicting the idea of never giving up while also dealing with artistic endeavors that remain unsupported in the world of profit.

When projects go downhill, so do the attitudes and trust of Laszlo, The Van Buren family, and his wife Erzebet. This is because the home of Laszlo is in the hands of the Van Buren family. Laszlo wants to rebuild his reputation and wants to keep creating the future of what he sees in his mind, but with the lack of structure, his ego spirals like crazy and leads to drinking, drug usage, attitude problems. The Brutalist dazzles with emotions.

The intermission is what helps its audience rebuild their thoughts before they continue with the other acts of the film. With the trail of Laszlo hitting roadblocks, The Brutalist is one that will keep building foundations of wonder and questions. The era of modern America is presented in an audacious form that I have not seen before, and it is all through the eyes of the performance of Brody. The Brutalist carries cinematography and scoring perfectly to maintain the emotions of its audience. It is set to know the moments of lightness and darkness. Brody’s performance is a monster of grandeur, brutality, and brilliance. Four out of four stars for The Brutalist.