The Brutalist

Directed by Brady Corbet, The Brutalist follows Hungarian immigrant László Tóth (Adrien Brody) as he arrives in post-WWII New York City and subsequently attempts to build a life for himself as an architect. Filmmaker Corbet, armed with his and Mona Fastvold’s screenplay, delivers an impressively larger-than-life epic that fares best in its frequently riveting first half, as the movie, which kicks off with an absolutely mesmerizing sequence detailing László’s arrival at Ellis Island, boasts a slow-moving yet engrossing narrative that’s been augmented with a whole host of spellbinding attributes – including Lol Crawley’s lush cinematography, Daniel Blumberg’s foreboding score, and Brody’s captivating, commanding performance. (Brody’s stellar work is, in addition, matched by first-class periphery players like Guy Pearce, Joe Alwyn, and Alessandro Nivola.) It’s disappointing to note, then, that The Brutalist eventually drops its fevered (and fascinating) focus on Brody’s compelling figure in favor of comparatively lackluster characters (eg László’s wife, Felicity Jones’ Erzsébet) and less-than-engrossing digressions (eg László’s trip to Italy) – which, when coupled with a somewhat anticlimactic epilogue, ultimately cements the picture’s place as an impressive yet woefully erratic drama that nevertheless does confirm Corbet’s place as a thoroughly promising up-and-coming talent.

*** out of ****