The Brutalist takes in the motion of its characters’ lives so that you can follow them in their most trying moments. Director Brady Corbet takes great care in creating moments of detail in the travels of his characters. Their choices, while not always explicit, explained or shown in close up, always feel intimate in the way that we follow them. We feel we know them, especially Lazlo who makes flaws, humanity and genius come out in the small moments that the film chooses to focus on. Corbet also finds multiple ways to show these individual moments with surprising and creative choices, such as filling the frame with energy in moments of chaos but also leaving it stark in moments of solace.
Brutalist has a solid screenplay that contains excellent scenes that allow its talented group of actors, which includes Felicity Jones and Guy Pearce, to shine. However, while the script brings us along with captivating moments of dread, sorrow and passion, the overall stories do not seem to lead to strong conclusions. The resolutions are either resolved without focus or are not even mentioned. This leaves the film’s conclusion with mixed emotions as you may celebrate the story of the man you watched but wonder how it was meant to make the audience feel. Personally, I felt that it created confusion but its ambition and ability to keep you attached to the characters makes it a very worthy film and one that I look forward to discussing most likely in the context of the Oscar race, especially for the work by Adrien Brody and Guy Pearce.
The score is magnificent along with the film’s visual palette and unique camera placements. This doesn’t always apply to the visually-spectacular, dialogue scenes but the editing is effective and has beautiful connecting shots that are framed and composed with great care.
The Brutalist is playing at TIFF ’24. For more information, click here.
