Evelyn Rose is a sophomore and a reporter for the Fishers Tiger Times. Her views do not necessarily reflect those of the newspaper
“The Brutalist” wide releases in theaters January 24th. The film is directed by Brady Corbet and produced by A24 and is a type of film I thought could no longer exist. I have seen so many films that are sequels, reboots or just simply unoriginal. “The Brutalist” is a three-and-a-half-hour R rated period piece with a budget of $10 million that includes a 15-minute intermission.
The film follows László Toth who is a Jewish immigrant played by Adrien Brody who moves to America because he is forced by the political turmoil in 1940s Germany. “The Brutalist” is about the American dream that our nation was founded upon. It displays the hope that most immigrants had for America by having the first two minutes be a long take of László walking through the boat that he immigrated on. During this long shot, everyone on the boat becomes excited by what they see, which is the Statue of Lady Liberty representing that László finally feels free.
Though the film immediately shows us 10 minutes into the runtime the lows that immigrants truly had, showing us that László is a heroin addict because on the boat to America he was given drugs for the pain that he feels from a broken nose he had acquired from before the films start. The film then shows him being forced to wait in line for bread, simply for the kitchen to be out of bread so he starves. By masterfully contrasting the highs and lows that László goes through “The Brutalist” makes us truly feel when he is having a triumphant moment in a grueling process of becoming successful in America.
Adrien Brody is finally back to what he does best with this type of period piece role that has not been seen from him since “The Pianist,” which won him an Oscar for lead best actor. Brody deserves to win accolades for this role because I have never seen an actor who can truly make me believe that his character is not just an actor but a human being.
While also using instruments that align with the period, the film is highlights that its musical score is its own character. It amplifies every single scene from something as simple as a witty conversation to something complicated like a hopeful moment when László finally receives his first check. This score is all thanks to the wonderful composer Daniel Blumberg.
The final thing that adds to the equation of this large-scale film is the bold choice by cinematographer Lol Crawley to shoot on Vista Vision 70mm which films like “Star Wars a New Hope,” “Lawrence of Arabia” and “North by Northwest” used for making a film feel like a true epic.
Overall, this is the perfect example of what the golden age of cinema was: a film that takes all the risks and reaps all the rewards that comes with making an original film that audiences deserve.
