Words by JANE CROWTHER
A talking point at Venice Film Festival for its epic running time (215 minutes including an interval), Brady Corbet’s uncompromising drama finally makes it to cinemas for audiences to decide if it’s as ambitious and empty as the building at the centre of it, or an Oscar-winning masterpiece. Following the life of Jewish architect László Tóth (Adrian Brody) over 33 years, Corbet’s opus tracks the story of America via immigration, anti-semitism, art and commerce.
Arriving into New York on a boat from Hungary in 1947, László’s and our first view of the Statue Of Liberty is inverted, setting the tone for a film that seeks to play with expectation. László makes his way to Pennsylvania and his cousin (Alessandro Nivola) who gives him shelter in his furniture making business. Called to the home of wealthy industrialist, Harrison Lee Van Buran (Guy Pearce), to create a library for his study, the Eastern European genius’ work is so starkly modern that Harrison is impressed enough to commission him to design a building. The creation of that brutalist building over decades as László’s wife and niece are brought from Hungary and the Tóths become the Van Buran family pets, is the life-work and angst of the film. László attempts to find perfection in draughtsmanship and reconnect with a traumatised wife (Felicity Jones); his benefactor shows his generosity and cruelty…
Corbet and Mona Fastvold’s screenplay is dense and chewy, giving Brody the opportunity to show off the soulfulness that won him an Oscar for The Pianist and allowing Pearce to entertain with dangerous bonhomie. The two men dance around each other; one trying not to be obsequious in gratitude, the other trying to conceal his darkness. Waiting for those factors to collide as the building begins to take shape on the hill is much of what drives the film, which thrums with tension – both emotional and aural, thanks to sound design.
Lauded by critics during the festival circuit, The Brutalist is likely to be diverse to paying punters. While some will thrill to the immersive, indulgent nature of Corbet’s detailed universe, others will be tested by its unhurried pace, esoteric themes and bum-numbing length. Even the precisely styled credits might annoy. But for those looking for the bombastic results of an auteur with a vision, The Brutalist is arresting cinema that offers a unique experience. Whether you like it or not, depends on your tolerance to the didactic nature of auteurism.
Words by JANE CROWTHER
Photographs courtesy of UNIVERSAL PICTURES
The Brutalist is in cinemas now
