The Brutalist
Year: 2024
Rating: R
Length: 216 minutes / 3.60 hours
Conceptually, I enjoyed the idea of The Brutalist (2024). There are few biopics about architects, let alone ones of this specific style, so manufacturing a story that feeds from common tropes in the biopic format felt like an interesting way to showcase this unique artistic architecture. Of course, because the life of Laszlo (Adrien Brody) wasn’t real, The Brutalist leans into other metaphors that were uncomfortable to watch and ended up somewhat ruining the film for me.
The problem with a main character like Laszlo is that it doesn’t take long for him to do things that make him unlikable. Sure, one could argue the PSTD from surviving the Holocaust would cause him to act out in these ways just so he could maintain any semblance of control of his life. Unfortunately, the control he seeks is partly the reason for his demise, as it is through drugs and alcohol. Not that this is any different from any number of other famous (real) artists, mind you. It’s more that there’s no remorse for this downward spiral and no point where he has a moment of clarity.
Add to this the tug and pull of having a patron who controls the money these artists need to realize their grand artistic vision. In some ways, it’s certainly akin to slavery, even if the artists are being paid. The control patrons like Harrison Lee Van Buren (Guy Pearce) have over Laszlo is an accepted part of society but when this control veers into sexual assault, it’s no longer fun to watch this huge monument (a church, nonetheless) become a reality. Again, metaphor can explain away some of these problems, but they’re still hard to watch.
An interesting premise that gets progressively harder to watch, I give The Brutalist 3.5 stars out of 5.
1/2
