It really does feel like this is the kind of film that could have been made 40-50 years ago. This is a film that came from a director that knew what he wanted and was truly uncompromising in his vision.
Flash back to me, sitting in my chair, in my living room, scrolling YouTube, circa November 2024. I had been absentmindedly scrolling when I came across a little video that piqued my interest. It was a short, minute long teaser for a little film. That film, Brady Cobert’s The Brutalist, is the subject of today's review. A few things struck me upon viewing the teaser, mainly the stunning cinematography, esoteric aspect ratio, and the fact that it was being distributed by A24. Generally, to me at least, those were signs of quality, so I waited patiently for its release.
Flash forward to last weekend, and I finally got my chance to see it. I got in my car and went down to The Last Picture House in Davenport, as the Cinemark wasn’t showing it. This was my first experience with watching a film there, and I must say, it was quite pleasant. After sitting through all of it in its four hour entirety, I must say, I will genuinely be surprised if it doesn’t win best picture at the Oscars. This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a while, and I wish to tell you why.
What is Brutalism?
Unless you're, like me, an avid architecture fan (I plan to major in it), you might be confused as to what Brutalism is. Allow me to enlighten you with a brief history lesson. Brutalism was a style of architecture popular in the mid 20th century. Evolving from Modernism, a style of architecture also popular post World War 2, which sought to cast off ornamentation and other styles central to pre-war architecture, which were seen as emblematic of the failure of the old world, in favor of modern materials, such as glass, steel, and concrete, incorporating lots of clean lines and geometric shapes.
Brutalism grew out of a similar space. However, while modernism casted off complexity by choice, Brutalism grew from practicality. Following the devastation caused by World War 2, as well as the increasing industrialization within many European countries, a large amount of housing was needed, necessitating a large amount of buildings built cheaply. Enter Brutalism. Brutalist structures are primarily built out of concrete, because this material was cheap and able to be built quickly. Utilizing clean lines and boxy shapes, Brutalism spread across the world from Universities to Social Housing to offices.
However, Brutalism would eventually start to fall out of favor. Many of the concrete structures were poorly maintained, quickly becoming weathered. In addition, the stark style was seen as cold and desolate, innately incompatible with humanity. Much like how Modernism fell out of favor for reflecting the flaws of Capitalist countries it was primarily built in, Brutalism reflected those of the Soviet Union. Both of them would eventually be replaced by Postmodernism and contemporary styles which sought more naturality and creativity, while also bringing back historical styles.
The Premise
The film follows Lazlo Toth (Adrian Brody), a Jewish Hungarian architect who flees Europe to escape the holocaust, arriving in America in 1947, seeking to establish a new life in America. Although the movie is a work of historical fiction, much inspiration was taken from Mies Van Der Rohe, a German architect who similarly fled Nazi Germany, who was a visionary in Modern Architecture. Lazlo, while in America, lives with a cousin, a furniture maker, during which time they are commissioned by Harry Lee Van Buren (Joe Alwyn), the son of the rich Harrison Lee Van Buren (Guy Pearce), to renovate a room in Harrison’s home.
The commission goes sour, and despite the work being completed, Harrison is outraged by the changes, and refuses to pay, causing Lazlo to be kicked to the curb by his cousin. However, Harrison eventually comes to appreciate the visionary Brutalist style of Lazlo, eventually commissioning him to build a community center dedicated to Harrison’s mother. Throughout the process, Lazlo attempts to get in contact with his wife, Erzsébet (Felicity Jones), who was separated from him during the war. However, the promise of the American Dream given to Lazlo slowly eroded into an American Nightmare, as Lazlo’s obsession with his work consumed him.
Absolute Cinema
I don’t often like calling things “Cinema” in the sense of a mark of quality, as I find it a bit pretentious, but this is a film I can absolutely call “Cinema.” This film truly feels like a work of cinema, a monumental achievement in film. The film was entirely shot on 35mm film, using VistaVision, a format only used twice since the 1960s. This helps to enhance the stunning cinematography, leveraging the color given by film. It’s honestly a wonder that this film was even made at all, being made with a tiny budget of $10 million. That may seem like a lot, but for a Hollywood production, that is tiny.
The movie truly feels like it came from a different time. In the age of multi-million dollar blockbusters, slathered in VFX and overly perfect cinematography, this film feels like a breath of fresh air— a movie shot on film, with a tiny budget with b-list celebrities without bloated paychecks, shot entirely practically. It really does feel like this is the kind of film that could have been made 40-50 years ago. This is a film that came from a director that knew what he wanted and was truly uncompromising in his vision.
The Concrete Elephant In The Room
Unfortunately, however, there is a big issue that I have to address, one that if you’ve heard about the film, then you might likely know. And that is AI. The film unfortunately made use of AI in not insubstantial ways. The first is by using AI to spruce up sections where the actors speak Hungarian to make it sound more authentic. This one isn’t huge, the actors still learned Hungarian and their accents, and the use of AI here was mostly to enhance the viewing experience. However, a lot of Hungarian viewers have taken issue with it.
The other way is less insubstantial, where AI was used to generate Brualist buildings in an ending scene, before being traced over by artists and made to look believable. This one is a bit more major, even though it is only used in one scene, it does kinda go against the spirit of architecture in the film. However, they are mostly in one-off shots, and no artists were replaced in using AI. According to the film makers, they only used AI due to time and budget constraints I think both of these are minor, but I think there are issues to be reckoned with in Hollywood, and these don’t set a great precedent for future use. I don’t think in this film it is a huge issue, but if you have an issue with AI in film, be advised before you see it.
Should You See It?
The Brutalist is probably the best film of 2024 and is a true work of art. I thoroughly enjoyed the film, however I don’t think the film is for everyone. The film, while excellently paced, is four hours long with a 15 minute intermission. It's a very slow and deliberate film, and definitely uses its time well, but that may be a turn off for some. However, if you can stomach that and enjoy historical fiction or even dramas in general, I think it is absolutely worth seeing this monumental accomplishment in cinema.
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