The Brutalist

⭐ 9/10

Something that is inescapable about this movie is that it is clearly trying to be an all-time masterpiece.  The runtime, the cast, the novel filming style. It is following in the footsteps of all the great American epics, and going into a movie expecting that gives it some baggage.

This movie is certainly breathtaking at moments, telling a sweeping tale of a genius and his patron, how art gets made and who funds it, and ultimately how art is remembered and who gets to give art meaning. That's a lot. I think there is subtlety, especially in the ending which I think is a middle finger and says out loud what I think is the opposite of the meaning of the movie. The more I think about the ending the more I like the movie actually, and a comparison I have been going back to is Tar. A very different movie, but I think they are hitting on a bunch of similar things.

This is also an immigrant story, a man fleeing horrors in Europe comes to America to make a living, and who is also trying to find a way to get his wife to join him. It is shot with style and artistry, and when he finally moves up and is recognized for his architecture it is very satisfying. Adrian Brody really does give a powerhouse performance here, a character with many levels that you are rooting for but also grate against sometimes.

In more comparisons, there is a bunch of There Will Be Blood in here too, which some would say is the best version of a story like this. I think some of the most striking scenery is of a marble quarry, and I kept thinking of oil spewing from the earth in There Will Be Blood, and the power-hungry men who try to tap mother nature for their own glory. What I think this movie has going for it is the dynamics between Guy Pierce and Adrian Brody, sometimes slave/master, sometimes artist and patron, sometimes collaborators and deep thinkers.  They embark on a monumental project together, and things start to unravel.

Because this movie is so grand, and it knows it is, its hard to think negatively about any aspect. Maybe that's its real fault, that it tries so hard to be epic that it doesn't feel as effortless as it does in others. I think Brody's wife, played by Felicity Jones, is an interesting character and not what you expect at all. The movie really shifts when she gets more involved and I think it led to some of the more perplexing moments for me. Sex in this movie is really weird, and filmed in an uncomfortable way, for one thing. It's also hard to root for your genius protagonist when he is making poor choices for his family. Her arrival does take a chisel to Toth, exposing a bit more of who he is and what makes him tick. That's just not always what we want in our tortured geniuses.

The level of craft is through the roof, the score is fantastic, and there are a couple scenes and images that have entered the great-film lexicon for me. I wish I could say I loved it, but it also doesn't seem concerned with that. I loved the experience of watching it, and thinking about it weeks later, and what more can you ask for in a movie.