TIFF Review: ‘The Brutalist’ is an Epic Tale of Hard Work and Passion

Starting over in a new place requires a tremendous amount of humility and perseverance. That’s even truer when earned degrees, accolades, and any established reputation are no longer relevant and capability has to be proven without any references. Brady Corbet’s The Brutalist chronicles the arduous journey back to prominence for a Hungarian Holocaust survivor who arrives in the United States with a wealth of knowledge about and experience in architecture.

László Toth (Adrien Brody) arrives by boat to New York and boards a bus to Philadelphia, where his cousin Attila (Alessandro Nivola), who left Hungary years earlier and now sells furniture and identifies as Catholic, has some work for him. He soon nets a major project commissioned by Harry Lee Van Buren (Joe Alwyn) as a surprise to his wealthy father Harrison (Guy Pearce), who reacts very negatively at first but later sees the brilliance of László’s talent. While adjusting to a new life in America, László writes to his wife Erzsébet (Felicity Jones), who remains in Europe with his niece Zsófia (Raffey Cassidy), hoping to secure passage across the ocean but struggling to provide proof of their relationship that will keep the family together.

This is an exhaustive and extraordinary effort that runs more than three and a half hours, including a fifteen-minute intermission, beginning with its two protagonists worlds apart and struggling to survive. Corbet delivers his third film, following The Childhood of a Leader and Vox Lux, with a script he collaborated on with his writing partner Mona Fastvold. From its opening moments, which find László scrambling through a group of people in a crowded space and emerging to see part of the Statue of Liberty, this film enmeshes itself in a mood of uncertainty, which shows how fortune often smiles upon the unfortunate but never lasts all that long, far too fickle to be relied on to be enduring.

Beginning in 1947, this film feels like it exists in its era, offering wide panning shots of the landscape and focused looks at the road ahead at various speeds. Corbet works with his Vox Lux cinematographer Lol Crawley to create a distinct look for this project, which, among other memorable visuals, involves the commissioning of a massive building seen in various stages of completion. The claustrophobia that László feels in his new life is palpable, and there’s a haughtiness to the way that Harrison, who repeatedly notes that he finds conversation with László to be “intellectually stimulating,” lords what he has over László under the guise of welcoming him into his home (others, like Harry, are less subtle).

The technical elements of this daunting undertaking are all excellent, painting a picture of life for these immigrants in a place that isn’t home with a jarring score by Daniel Blumberg. Brody, more than two decades after his Oscar-winning performance as another Holocaust survivor in The Pianist, wears the weight of what László has been through in each scene, and it’s particularly enthralling to see him grapple with the rage that engulfs him when he feels disrespected or undervalued. Jones and Alwyn also offer memorable turns, but Pearce is doing something especially mesmerizing as a man who wants to be interested in everything he does, pouring close to a million dollars in 1950s currency into a project unflatteringly referred to by another character as give the consideration of remodeling a kitchen.

While The Brutalist is a formidable feat, which should serve to entrance audiences for its entire lengthy runtime, it veers somewhat off-course towards the end of its second act, opting not for a concise and comprehensible finish but instead something that feels much grayer and more open to debate. That it’s a fictional story might surprise audiences given its scope and specificity, while plenty of real-life inspirations might have felt more genuine. Style sometimes overwhelms substance, and not seeing any of what László and his family endured during the Holocaust leaves horrors to the imagination, not necessarily painting the fullest picture of this man, whose post-war life is the subject of an undeniably fascinating if slightly off-putting film.

Movie Rating: 7/10

Awards Buzz: Consider this one a contender! Brody should certainly be back in the awards race for the first time since 2002 and Pearce will also be in discussion for his first-ever Oscar nomination. The film is also likely to do well in technical categories and the Best Picture race provided audiences can get past its length and disturbing content.