MOVIE REVIEW: THE BRUTALIST

 

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 recognizes his talent.

Director: Brady Corbet

Cast: Adrien Brody, Guy Pearce, Felicity Jones, Joe Alwyn, Raffey Cassidy, Stacy Martin, Emma Laird, Isaach de Bankolé, Alessandro Nivola

Release Date: December 20, 2024

Genre: Drama, History 

Rated R for strong sexual content, graphic nudity, rape, drug use and some language.

Runtime: 3h 35m

Review:

Brady Corbet's mammoth immigrant epic, The Brutalist, is straightforward but so densely packed with so many themes and undercurrents that its unwieldly at various points but the whole thing is buoyed by a pair of powerful turns from Adrien Brody and Guy Pearce.  Corbet's steady sense of structure paired with cinematographer Lol Crawley stunning visuals make for an elegant film from start to finish.  Each moment and shot are constructed with a meticulous level of detail that echoes films of a bygone era exemplified by the decision to film using VistaVision.  It all gives the film a specific look and feel that pops off the screen throughout its extended runtime.  The inclusion of an overture, intermission and epilogue all add to the overall effect Corbet is trying to achieve.  Amidst all the technical bells and whistles the story, at its heart, is grounded in harsh realism missing any semblance of rose colored nostalgia.  Adrien Brody's László Tóth is a complex character filled with intelligence, ambition, trauma and human imperfections.  The role makes for a fascinating character study as well as following his journey from the moment he hits the shores of America as he tries to find his footing before meeting industrialist Harrison Lee Van Buren played by Guy Pearce.  Brody turn is fully formed with his evolution over the course of the film coming off as authentic.  He carries a sense of intellectualism even during his lowest points which serves as Van Buren's main fascination.  Pearce creates a blue blood industrialist who serves as the de facto face of American capitalism presented in its most brutish form.  His hardnose, cold pragmatist serves as a perfect foil to Brody's more measured and cerebral employee.  Their interchanges serve as fascinating explorations of their power structure, with a sprinkling of Ayn Rand for good measure.  The script stumbles in its back half as the subtleness gives way to more overt allegories that feel unnecessary.   Its an odd choice for a film that moves so methodically for a large portion of its runtime before feeling the need to make its larger point more explicit to the point where the final line of dialogue serves as coda for the film's story and experience watching it unfold.  

B+

Movie Reviews: FUNNY GAMES

Monday, June 23, 2008
Movie Reviews: FUNNY GAMES
ON DVD

A vacationing family gets an unexpected visit from two deeply disturbed young men. Their idyllic holiday turns nightmarish as they are subjected to unimaginable terrors and struggle to stay alive.

Cast: Naomi Watts, Tim Roth, Michael Pitt, Brady Corbet,Devon Gearhart

Director: Michael Haneke

Genres: Crime Thriller, Psychological Thriller, Thriller

Opened March 14, 2008

Runtime:1 hr. 47 min.

Rated R for terror, violence and some language

Review:

There is a 10 minute uninterrupted shot of Naomi Watts, in her bra and panties, with her hands and feet bound trying to make herself up from the floor. The shot is impressive mainly because we feel Watts pain and distress as she struggles to make her way up to her feet. It was one of those moments in film where I felt bad for Watts, not here character but her. It's just such a painful scene and it goes on forever. Is there a great point to the entire sequence? Yes and no. Yes in that writer director, helming this shot for shot remake of his Austrian film of the same name, Michael Haneke wants the audience to feel that pain and distress. He holds the shot hoping that at some point we have to turn away from it, creating the visceral reaction he was looking for and in a way chastising us for watching it. If this sounds painful to watch, well it is and Haneke believes his movie is miles smarter than it actually is. Haneke wants this film to stand as a testament to pointless and artful violence but as a film it doesn't work. Haneke is a talented filmmaker, quite a few of his shots can bring comparisons to Stanley Kubrick, A Clockwork Orange is an easy comparison. He creates a cold detached type of atmosphere which drives his message further down our throats. The general concept of the film is thoroughly intriguing but Haneke's pretension seeps through the celluloid. He never trust his audience enough to allow them to dissect the film on their own, instead he uses tried and true arthouse techniques like breaking the 4th wall and rewinding a scene with a new outcome to make sure the audience knows how intelligent he is. While the director comes off as pretentious the actors and actresses lay themselves bare on film. Watts is spectacular and allows us to feel her pain and torture throughout the entire runtime. Tim Roth has moments were his grief is so palatable it's hard to not to believe. Michael Pitt & Brady Corbet are disturbingly cool and detached as the two psychopaths. Michael Haneke's repellant film is terribly slow and isn't for about 90% of the movie watching audience. There is bit and pieces of the film that I found fascinating but as a complete film it's a tedious trek into arthouse exploitation.

C