“Writing about music is like dancing about architecture” is a maxim the late comedian Martin Mull made about the futility of trying to translate the purity of music into words. Storytelling about architecture, well, there should be a truism about that too and the seeming impossibility of making a dramatic epic movie about an architect and his art. But it’s apparently been done and done amazingly in “The Brutalist,” the latest drama from actor-turned-filmmaker Brady Corbet.
READ MORE: 2024 Fall Film Preview: 50 Movies To Watch
Known for provocative and deeply challenging films like “The Childhood Of A Leader” (2015), and “Vox Lux” (2018), to hear it from critics, Corbet’s ambitious third film, is his first masterwork, an epic about well, ambition, dreams and struggle.
Written by Corbet and his regular writing partner (and real life partner) Mona Fastvold, the epic historical drama chronicles 30 years in the life of László Tóth, a Hungarian-born Jewish architect who survives the Holocaust, and hungers for fulfilling the American Dream after his migration to the States.
The film stars Adrien Brody as Tóth, Felicity Jones as his wife plus, Guy Pearce, Joe Alwyn, Raffey Cassidy, Stacy Martin, Emma Laird, Isaach De Bankolé, and Alessandro Nivola.
The film premiered at the 81st Venice International Film Festival on September 1, 2024, to rapturous acclaim, and Corbet was awarded the Silver Lion for Best Direction.
Shot by Lol Crawley (“Vox Lux,” “White Noise”), did we mention that “The Brutalist” is a massive three hours and 35 minutes? That’s a long ass time for a movie these days, but it did not dissuade critics. Our review from Venice described the film as a “masterful period epic for the ages,” and the film is already being touted as one of the top contenders for the Oscars.
Here’s the official synopsis:
Escaping post-war Europe, visionary architect László Toth arrives in America to rebuild his life, his work, and his marriage to his wife Erzsébet after being forced apart during wartime by shifting borders and regimes. On his own in a strange new country, László settles in Pennsylvania, where the wealthy and prominent industrialist Harrison Lee Van Buren recognizes his talent for building. But power and legacy come at a heavy cost…
“The Brutalist” is scheduled to be released in the United States on December 20, by A24. Does the indie studio have a Best Picture winner on their hands? We’ll see soon enough. In the meantime, watch the first trailer below.
