Film Review: THE BRUTALIST: Brady Corbet’s Hard-Hitting Dramatic Film Showcases Three of the Year’s Top Performances [NYFF 2024]

Thomas Duffy October 14, 2024Last Updated: October 14, 2024

Adrien Brody Felicity Jones The Brutalist

The Brutalist Review

The Brutalist (2024) Film Review from the 62nd Annual New York Film Festival, a movie directed by Brady Corbet, written by Mona Fastvold and Brady Corbet and starring Adrien Brody, Felicity Jones, Guy Pearce, Joe Alwyn, Raffey Cassidy, Isaah De Bankole, Jonathan Hyde, Emma Laird, Stacy Martin, Alessandro Nivola, Peter Polycarpou, Zephan Hanson Amissah, Jaymes Butler, Matt Devere, Michael Epp and Robert Jackson.

There are many superb scenes of intense drama in director Brady Corbet’s wrenching new film, The Brutalist. The best one comes late in the film when Erzsébet Tóth (Felicity Jones) shows up to take action against a man who did something horrible to Erzsébet’s husband, László (Adrien Brody). Felicity Jones brings fiery passion, regret, sorrow and heartbreak to her role, especially in this scene. It’s a true standout in a film with a lot of great sequences. Brody and Jones are both shoo-ins for Academy Award nominations for their work in this picture with Guy Pearce as the man in question, Harrison Lee Van Buren Sr., giving the best performance of his career. It’s easy to say that The Brutalist is frank, startling and mesmerizing, sometimes all at the same time and it’s one of the most intense films you’ll see this year.

Brody’s character, László, is a Hungarian architect who arrived in America in a post World War II world in the late 1940’s. The Statue of Liberty is featured in an angled shot that is among the best in the picture and is featured right at the start of the movie. This film soon shows László’s involvement with a prostitute in graphic detail as he struggles to become aroused. The hooker comments on his ugliness while he most likely yearns for the companionship of his wife, Erzsébet. Through a series of events, László comes to be employed by the wealthy Pearce character, Van Buren, who has a dream to create a library combined with a gym and other types of exotic rooms. After a failed attempt at working towards building something for Van Buren, László comes on to something much bigger than was originally anticipated which is a huge project for the architect.

László’s cousin, Attila, who owns a furniture store, is played by Alessandro Nivola and he is a big part of the opening stages of the film and a catalyst to the events that follow. Another key character here is the son of Van Buren who is excellently played by Joe Alwyn. The early stages of the film involve the interaction of these characters but the standout is, of course, Pearce who plays his role with tremendous dedication and precision. Pearce manages to make us initially have some faith that Van Buren is a respectable person in terms of the way he embraces the endeavors of László. The film has much more in store for viewers in its second half that audiences won’t see coming from the talky first half of the film.

When Erzsébet and niece, Zsófia (Raffey Cassidy), enter into the equation in the film’s second half, the movie changes gears almost entirely. The Brutalist becomes a much better film in the second part of it. A true stand-out scene where László’ is beside his now disabled wife in bed is particularly haunting as Jones brings her character to life quite vividly. Erzsébet says she knows everything that her husband is doing and everything he has done and the two characters engage in a sort of intimacy rarely captured in the world of cinema today. This sequence is spellbinding to behold with some of the best acting of the year and of these performers’ careers.

Another phenomenal scene comes as Erzsébet is in need of drugs and László’ tries to be there for her in the most difficult of circumstances. Jones is absolutely captivating in this scene as well but Brody is also beyond phenomenal here. It feels as if Jones has created her character as a suffering survivor of horrific circumstances who is trying to re-establish herself in a world which is completely different for her than her past in its excesses. The same goes for Brody’s character who now faces challenges in a new world which are a bit different from the old ones but equally as frustrating.

Brody’s character sporadically shoots up drugs of his own and is stuck in a world which is far different from the one he deserves to be living in. There are scenes in The Brutalist which I dare not describe because they are so harrowing to watch and will be more interesting to the viewer if they are not aware of them beforehand.

Guy Pearce is simply better than he’s ever been in a complex performance that appears one way on the surface but is quite another underneath the peeling layers. He’s deserving of the Best Supporting Actor Oscar as his work is at the center of what drives the development of the plot of The Brutalist.

Felicity Jones’ work here is such a force to contend with in this picture. You won’t see the quality of this performance coming from her previous work. She and Brody create three-dimensional characters who are living in a nightmare to make their dreams come true. When the film concludes in 1980, we see Brody’s character worn out by life but his accomplishments to society have proven to be amazing.

Brody is astonishing in terms of creating his character and developing him emotionally right from the very first frame and first raw sexual scene. Brody is fearless in his most ambitious and deeply moving role to date. The intimate scenes between Brody and Jones capture a full-fledged relationship based on much more than physical attraction. If it was up to me, Jones would be awarded the Oscar immediately for her triumphant dramatic work here.

The choices that the director makes aesthetically are also visually intriguing. The opening credits come on like a road that is leading somewhere while the closing credits appear on a slant which could be related to the way the characters’ lives in the film are thrown for a curve ball. This movie will leave viewers discussing and debating it as any great film would. It would be interesting to know the significance and the director’s purpose for his creative credit display choices.

The Brutalist is, quite possibly, the best acted film of 2024. At well over three hours, it is more effective in its resolution than in its build-up though whenever Pearce is on-screen early on, it’s impossible to tell that some of the movie is simply building to events which have a much greater sense of purpose than the early ones. There aren’t many flaws in the movie but the film is devastating at times and it will be a challenge for people who are not ready for it to endure some of the scenes here.

That being said, there will be several Oscar nominated performances that will come from this film, as previously suggested: Brody, Jones and, Pearce, who should probably just start clearing off his mantelpiece for his trophy already. The Brutalist is a devastating and moving portrait of trying to achieve the impossible in a world where everything is possible at a cost. This is one of the most heart-wrenching films of the year.

Rating: 9/10

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