Bonus Review: The Brutalist

Welcome To America

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INTRODUCTION

This is a quick review of the newly released film The Brutalist. Keep in mind this is but one of the many movies I watch every year, and that whatever initial grade I come up for this film could change for better or worse with time. To better keep up to date with both my thoughts on other movies and if my feelings on this film changed, follow me on Letterboxd.

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THE PLOT

Via Letterboxd: Fleeing from post-war Europe in 1947, visionary architect László Tóth and his wife Erzsébet settle in Pennsylvania where a wealthy and mysterious client changes their lives forever.

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QUICK REVIEW

Some epics feel like they can only be pulled off by certain directors - those capable of crafting sprawling, decade-spanning masterpieces that film historians will study for generations to come after their initial screenings. Names like D.W. Griffith, Cecil B. Demille, David Lean, Akira Kurosawa, Ingrid Bergman, Martin Scorsese, and Christopher Nolan come to mind. But the director of Vox Lux? That’s not exactly who you’d expect.

Then again, considering my favorite film of the year comes from a director who once worked on Step Up sequels, maybe it’s not so surprising. Directors sometimes hone their craft with mid-tier films before delivering something extraordinary. Even Scorsese’s early works gave little indication of the masterpieces to come. If anything, I’m thrilled to see Brady Corbet stepping up and proving his potential as a masterful storyteller.