László Tóth’s story spans decades in Brady Corbet’s latest film, The Brutalist. The movie traces the life of the Hungarian-Jewish architect from the end of World War Two until the completion of his greatest project. Picking up as Tóth flees to America in 1947 after surviving the horrors of the Holocaust, it follows his journey to build a new life across the Atlantic. But his past casts a long shadow, and success brings its own challenges.
Adrien Brody gives a powerhouse performance as Tóth, embracing the role with heart and soul. Director Brady Corbet also throws himself fully into the vision, shooting the three and a half-hour epic largely in the 1950s widescreen format VistaVision with the immense clarity of 70mm film. This lavish presentation transports viewers straight to the period. Corbet has crafted an intimate epic that holds nothing back in examining Tóth’s journey.
From the first gritty moments on the immigrant trail, it’s clear Tóth can’t outrun his trauma so easily. But his talent shines through, and success soon finds him, albeit depending on others that bring their own difficulties. Tóth’s story vividly depicts the immigrant experience, the power of creativity to transform lives, and one man’s struggle against prejudice and personal demons across a landscape of sweeping change. Epic in scope yet deeply human, The Brutalist ensures its subject’s memory and message will echo on.
Following his Vision
László Tóth arrives in America seeking escape from the horrors of his past. A talented architect from Hungary survives the Holocaust only to find new struggles abroad. Separated from his wife Erzsébet, he first finds family with his cousin Attila in Pennsylvania. But Tóth’s skill is noticed by local businessman Harrison Van Buren, leading him down an unexpected path.
Van Buren sees potential in Tóth’s designs, hiring him to renovate a library. Impressed by his work, Van Buren offers the commission of Tóth’s dreams—a vast community center called the Institute. Here Tóth’s vision can reach new heights, though building it won’t be easy. Completing such an ambitious project while standing up to Van Buren’s inflated ego tests both Tóth’s talent and resolve.
Over a decade passes as the institute gradually rises from the ground. Tóth perseveres through setbacks and turmoil, seeing his ideas take concrete form. Years later, Erzsébet arrives from Hungary to reunite with her husband. But prejudice lingers as an “outsider,” and Van Buren’s manipulation becomes clearer. The wealthy patron relishes oppressing those he deems weaker, like Tóth and his new friend Gordon.
Tóth’s steadfast determination inspires even as it frustrates Van Buren’s need for control. The architect perseveres as his marriage strengthens and the institute grows ever more impressive. But darkness remains from Tóth’s past. And Van Buren grows threatened as his favorite project nears completion. Along his long road, Tóth discovers the true cost of success in a new home and the shadows that may never fade.
Finding Purpose in a New Land
The Brutalist examines what it means to start over in a foreign country and how the past can either empower or haunt people. At its core, the film is about maintaining identity and integrity in the face of prejudice and manipulation.
Jewish themes resonate deeply throughout. László and Erzsébet carry the scars of the Holocaust while still facing anti-Semitism in America. The film shows their struggle to rebuild lives and find a sense of belonging. Szofia pursuing life in Israel speaks to searching for spiritual validation in the homeland.
Corbet also highlights the tricky relationship between artists and sponsors. Van Buren sees László as a means to aggrandize himself, not respecting the architect’s vision. The film criticizes how wealthy patrons exploit immigrants’ talents while denying their humanity. László fights to complete his masterwork on his own terms against the oppressive control of his “patron.”
Most powerfully, The Brutalist illustrates how past trauma can both drive people and hold them back. László channels his experiences into innovative buildings. But postwar Europe’s horrors also leave psychological wounds, like his episodic sadness and reliance on drugs. Even in America, the shadows of the Holocaust never fully release him.
Through its complex characters, The Brutalist provides a thought-provoking look at identities transformed by displacement, the scars of history, and individuals’ battle to find purpose after upheaval—issues just as relevant for all who have suffered loss and begun again.
Masters of Their Craft
Brady Corbet is clearly an ambitious director, and The Brutalist shows the scope of his vision. Pulling off such a massive film must have been no small feat, but Corbet shows skill in keeping its many moving parts aligned across three and a half hours.
The gorgeous cinematography is also a marvel. Lol Crawley shoots using an old-school 70mm format, transporting viewers straight back to the 1950s in vivid detail. Epic set pieces are given an especial grandeur through Crawley’s swooping camerawork. Whether prowling cramped ship corridors or sweeping Italian marble quarries, Crawley’s skills bring every scene to life.
No small credit also belongs to production designer Judy Becker. From period-appropriate costume and props to the film’s towering central location, Becker’s immersive work places audiences right into the world of the story. The looming institute becomes a character in its own right thanks to her talent. Subtle evolutions to the structure mirror the changing relationships within, demonstrating Becker’s artistry.
Through the luminous cinematography, the production gives László’s monumental project a fitting sense of scale. Across each elaborately designed set, the intricate fits and starts of construction unfold with visual flair. Corbet and his collaborators prove themselves expert craftspeople, using their skills and care to realize a complex story on an epic scale. Their mastery of the filmmaking process helps ensure László Tóth’s saga remains as immense and impactful as the architect’s own lifework.
Bringing the Characters to Life
Adrien Brody disappears fully into the role of László Tóth, committing body and soul to capture the architect’s drive, anguish, and unwavering spirit. Brody inhabits Tóth so completely it’s hard to separate the man from the actor—through every triumph and struggle, he makes us feel as if we’re walking beside the protagonist.
Felicity Jones likewise immerses herself as the clear-sighted yet passionate Erzsébet. Always respecting her husband while refusing to be defined by him, Jones ensures Erzsébet emerges as a character in her own right.
Alongside these powerhouse turns, Guy Pearce brings chilling subtlety to Harrison Van Buren. Under his gentlemanly charm lies venomous disdain for perceived weakness. Van Buren’s veneer of polish cracks at opportune moments to expose the twisted cruelty beneath. In Pearce’s hands, what could have been a caricature instead feels disturbingly human—and all the more sinister for it.
With deft support from the rest of the cast too, each fully realizing complex, dimensional roles, the performances lift Corbet’s film. No mere vehicles to move the plot, these characters come to deeply felt life through the actors. Brody, Jones, and Pearce especially vanish into their parts to such an extent the story’s every emotional beat feels profoundly true. Through such committed work, they transport us straight to the story’s heart, ensuring its immense themes and gorgeous craft cannot fail to move audiences in turn.
Poring Over the Structures
Under its immense scale, The Brutalist displays some cracks in the framework. While potent themes like Jewish identity come through loud and clear, others feel underdeveloped. The film spends little time elaborating on ideas like capitalism and American nationalism.
Yet for all its flaws, the parallels between László’s artistic journey and Corbet’s own as an auteur cinema still shine through. Both men confront interference from financiers and power struggles over creative control. In László, Corbet shaped a character exploring the difficulties of realizing a grand vision.
Most arresting is how architecture itself becomes a vessel for exploring the characters. László pours his soul into concrete structures, making them extensions of his inner self. As his institute rises, it mirrors his ambition but also traps him as Van Buren’s puppet. By the end, the building stands as both László and Van Buren’s monument, for better or worse, showing how thoroughly intertwined they became through the process of its creation.
In scrutinizing The Brutalist’s frameworks, one finds it succeeds in using its lavish visuals and thoughtful protagonist to raise complex thoughts on artistry, identity, and the complexity of forging new paths in unfamiliar lands. Its structural examination of how people erect the worlds around them and are shaped in turn ensures thought-provoking rewatches.
The Architect’s Legacy
Brady Corbet’s The Brutalist is a film of immense scope and skill. Across its three and a half-hour runtime, viewers are treated to masterful filmmaking and some of the finest acting of recent years. Despite flaws, Corbet achieves his goal of crafting an intricately layered epic.
The luminous cinematography transports audiences straight to 1950s Europe and America. Across elaborately designed sets, László Tóth’s story engrosses with its exploration of immigration, prejudice, and the role of art. Adrien Brody and Felicity Jones in particular deliver indelible performances that make Tóth’s journey profoundly moving.
While not without faults, The Brutalist succeeds in its ambition. It uses the past to reflect on important modern issues, crafting a monument befitting its protagonist’s visionary works. Corbet establishes himself as an American auteur following his own path. His film ensures Tóth’s memory and message will echo for those wishing to ponder the immigrant experience, an artist’s struggles, and history’s long shadows. László Tóth’s legacy is cemented for generations to discover.
The Review
The Brutalist
while uneven in parts The Brutalist succeeds in crafting an impactful, albeit demanding epic. Corbet's commitment to his vision and stellar work from Brody and Company give this tale of an immigrant architect power and resonance that outweigh its flaws.
PROS
- Ambitious scale and scope of the story and filmmaking
- Strong performances, particularly from Brody and Jones
- Thought-provoking exploration of important themes
- Evocative production design and cinematography
CONS
- Uneven narrative focus and pacing issues
- Underdeveloped supporting characters and roles
- Some plot points feel unrealistic or abruptly executed.
- Lacks humor or lightness to balance the heaviness
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