Rating: 10/10
Preferences always come into play when discussing one’s favorite films. You probably have a different favorite film than me, and that’s OK.
But when we’re talking about defining the history of cinema, there’s only a handful of films whose impact is actually discussed. Sure, you can rave about “High School Musical” and “Mamma Mia” — I know, I have my similar favorites. But they aren’t the greatest films of all time.
From older classics like “The Wizard of Oz” and “Citizen Kane” to newer but equally important films like “Parasite” and “Get Out”, audiences have come to a consensus that these films have left an impact on cinema history.
“The Brutalist” wholeheartedly belongs in this group.
Directed by Brady Corbet, the actor and director known for directing “Vox Lux” starring Natalie Portman, “The Brutalist” transports us to post-World War II America. The story centers on László, a visionary architect aiming to rebuild his life in America. He starts working at his cousin’s furniture store when he gets an order from a wealthy customer that changes the trajectory of his life.
Corbet is unlike any American filmmaker we’ve seen in modern times. Comparable to the towering works of Paul Thomas Anderson and the aesthetics of Lars Von Trier, Corbet’s style is incredibly thought-provoking. His scenes are like a dance through a ballroom — as we tap dance through the lives and experiences that this film represents, Corbet doesn’t compromise his style for the story and deftly lets his style bleed through in what is ultimately the story’s driving force.
The performances in this film are also top-shelf. Adrien Brody, Felicity Jones, Guy Pearce and Joe Alwyn are incredible. As famous as these performers are, we get lost in their transformations into these characters and have no room for mistaking what they’re feeling.
The mise-en-scène is one of the best creations I’ve seen in a film this decade. From the beautiful score, impeccable production design, delicious wardrobe, stunning cinematography and everything else in between, we’re living in 1950s Pennsylvania, the one these artists have created for us.
As much as I’ve mentioned how much I love everything in this film, what I find the most fascinating is its messaging, which is complicated.
On the surface, we’re presented with the immigrant experience. László coming to America to start his life again is a story that many can relate to. What László goes through is truly heartbreaking, but as an immigrant myself, is also something that’s happened to me — and I felt it deep in my soul.
László, being an architect, fights for the right to do what he wants. As he works on the projects given to him, there’s always someone wanting to discredit or disallow him from doing what needs to be done for him to be successful.
In Brady Corbet’s acceptance speech for Best Motion Picture – Drama at the Golden Globes, he asks the audience to ponder on an idea: “Final cut tiebreak goes to the director.” What this means is that he wants all films to represent the filmmaker’s vision — not the producers, the production company or the actors that were a part of the film.
And his film perfectly embodies this idea. He’s weaved his personal philosophy of what he believes is the proper way to work in the industry into this story about immigration. If that’s not genius, I don’t know what is.
But the ball doesn’t stop rolling there. We’re given commentary on displaced people and Zionism, perspective on people whose voice is repressed and shown the role of a partner in the shadow of a genius. All of these ideas are presented to us for contemplation. Corbet throws these ideas at us and asks us to make sense of it.
We don’t have a definitive answer for what Corbet wants us to think about the film. Rather, he gives us pieces to a puzzle but the pieces can fit an array of combinations. What we have to do is figure out what we want to get out of it and which puzzle we want to complete. It’s art at its highest form, and we’re all witnesses to the intelligence it entrusts us with.
These stories matter. Art matters. It’s about if you’re willing to accept the challenge of what the art is asking of you. And “The Brutalist” is worth accepting the challenge it gives.
“No one was asking for a three-and-a-half-hour film about a mid-century artist on 70 millimeters,” Corbet proclaimed in his speech. “But it works.”
Joshua Abraham is a kinesiology junior and opinion writer for The Battalion.
