“The Brutalist”
It may seem bizarre to say it, but this film is too short for the messages it was trying to articulate and the hurdles it was trying to leap over. However, I don’t believe that it necessarily failed at what it was attempting to do, and at spreading all of the messages it wanted to spread. It just takes a whole lot of deep thinking and intellectual energy to truly dissect the messages and the way with which Corbet spreads them. Although I believe there are only a couple of flaws, those flaws are what could have bridged the gap to becoming one of the greatest films of our generation.
I would like to start with one of the positives, though. Adrien Brody was absolutely phenomenal in this. There truly is no one who could’ve played this role more splendidly than Brody, who masterfully connects with the morals, ideology, and sensitivity of Laslo’s character as he goes through major shifts in his life, not just on the surface, but in his heart as well.
Similarly, the rest of the performances were impeccable as well, with Guy Pearce and Felicity Jones both depicting two very nuanced and particular characters, that not only hold a lot of emotional complexities themselves, but also drive Laslo to change via their own actions and desires. Their emotions and tendencies all became more apparent through their diverse performances and reactions, and it all felt very natural, creating a tense and emotionally gripping environment that forced you to see the story from numerous different aspects.
This, though, leads me to my first main flaw that I think absolutely distinguishes this as a step below some of the greatest films in recent history. Although we were able to grasp the feelings and behaviors of the characters through some incredible acting, the story didn’t have enough focus on the characters themselves, and understanding who they are and why they are the way they are. I think the most crucial step in character development, especially in a film with this grand of a scale, is allowing the audience to spend time with them interacting with other characters, because, at the end of the day, the way that people interact with each other is ultimately an indication of who they are. To me, this film didn’t have that, and we, as an audience, are expected to latch onto these complex characters and their intellect, without even seeing how they behave with the people around them on a regular basis.
And I understand that part of it is that Laslo is adjusting to a new world as an outsider, and that he simply didn’t have much interaction at all, but I can’t validate that theory enough to avoid the major hole in this film. He, as a person, develops and changes so quickly, and we are sort of left to ourselves to wonder why that happened and just accept that it did happen, because the story was more so focused on telling the story as a whole, grand timeline, rather than through the lens of our main character; which doesn’t necessarily make it worse or terrible, it just felt like a whole different aspect of the messaging was missing due to the approach of the writing and storytelling.
If the film was just given a little bit longer of a runtime, with the extra time filled in with some sort of character progressions that fill that void, then to me, this film would be taken to a whole new level of exceptional storytelling that would have made this one of the most extraordinary commentaries on political, cultural, artistic, and social complexities through one ginormous and unique story.
Despite that major gap, I still strongly believe that this film delivers upon the messages that it is attempting to convey. Above all else, this film is an intellectually stimulating commentary on the lengths an artist will go to create their masterpiece, being an indication of their own being, and an expression of their passion and creativity. If there is one thing that I will give this film its flowers for, it’s that I have never thought as hard about anything in my life as much as I did while watching, and after watching. In my opinion, that’s a good thing. Art is meant to make you think, and this did just that. You can slowly but surely see the way that Laslo begins to sacrifice himself through his work; he begins to lose sight of his spirituality, individuality, belief systems, romance, and independence while attempting to create something that is indicative of his own being. But what’s the point of creating something that represents yourself if, in the end, you end up losing the entirety of yourself? This constant tension between the pursuit of perfection and the ability to remain true to who you are and where you came from is a perfect depiction of the elusiveness of art and how it can build up the matter of someone’s soul, or in this case, tear it down.
Truly, though, at this film’s core is a story of a man gripping onto who he is, while slowly losing his faith and his religion at the expense of worldly desires. As the film progresses, and more time is spent away from Laslo’s home country, he is quickly corrupted by the worldly desires that make up American society; whether it be sex, money, or drugs, Laslo was no longer the spiritual man that we knew when he first arrived in America, but rather a shell of himself, plagued by his own destiny and his own personal ambitions, all to lead him to things that slowly stripped him of the spirituality that fueled his passion for his art. The ways in which they were able to make that message visible was truly remarkable, and it almost felt like we were right there with him, slowly turning what felt like a comfortable friend into a distant memory that his wife — and we were — trying so hard to rekindle with. Needless to say, the diverse storytelling and astounding world building made the deep rooted, layered messages vastly more compelling and engaging, which thus influenced us as an audience to think deeper about Laslo, America, art, and even ourselves.
The technological and artistic aspects in this film are to be marveled over, depicting the cultural, spiritual, and social relevance and repercussion through excellence in the score, cinematography, and world-building. To keep it short and simple, the cinematography, camera work, color, score, and sound mixing was a level of artistry that I haven’t felt so compelled by since Interstellar. Every shot was beyond stunning, and this felt like such a loud, ambitious, and grand piece of art that goes beyond the world that we saw, but into a new world that captures the essence of art at its finest.
I know that many people feel strongly that the second half of this film felt low in budget and small in scale, but I completely disagree. Everything about it felt dramatically large and upscale. Every scene of them building the Van Buren Institute felt compelling, every shot inside of it felt like a step into a world unknown, a world preserved by art and spirituality, and the cinematography in Italy felt like an absolute fever dream while experiencing the nature of a beautiful country. Not to mention, the score was absolutely perfect, and was constantly changing the mood of the film to match the emotions of the characters, which made me feel wildly connected to the thoughts and desires of all of them. Yes, I believe the film should have been longer, but I must admit, the level of detail, quality, and depth displayed in each and every scene and every shot, captured me into their world and made me feel and think and experience their fast moving adventures.
Despite the obvious mishap of character development that was missing due to the lack of true human interaction within the film, this film is a true example of cinematic storytelling that is only accomplished through profound ambition and overwhelming dedication. It is hard for me not to acknowledge that ambition when thinking about this movie, because I have never been so stimulated by a film in my life, and to me, that’s exactly what this film was meant to do. Regardless of it’s flaws, this film accomplishes it’s goals through a level of visual and emotional intelligence, maturity, depth, and creativity that is rarely seen in the world of film today.
