The Brutalist
Directed by Brady Corbet
- drama
The story
When an innovative modern architect flees post-war Europe, he is given the opportunity to rebuild his legacy. Set during the dawn of the modern United States (in Pennsylvania), his wife joins him, and their lives are forever changed by a demanding, wealthy patron.
What it’s like
Shot in grainy 70mm with an overture and intermission, this film moves between cold, sooty industrial greys and the warm amber of Italian marble quarries, with long, deliberate takes and monumental, geometric framing that makes rooms and buildings feel like characters. The score by Daniel Blumberg is an unsettling mix of dissonant drones, metallic scrapes and swelling organ-like tones, so the sound is often as heavy as the images. Its vibe is austere, brooding and quietly ambitious, a slow-burning portrait of ambition, exile and compromise, suited to a dedicated evening rather than background viewing. The pace is patient and the emotional register stern, following a displaced artist's struggle to hold onto his work and his marriage under a domineering patron. Intensity is high: there is heroin addiction, humiliation, and a graphic, prolonged sexual assault scene, along with sporadic brutal violence. It is not gentle, and it lands with real weight. It suits viewers who want an intense, serious, formally bold drama about art and power, and who are prepared for its harshness.
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