January 5, 2024 – I was totally fooled by this film, just like I was back in 2022 by “Tár.” I thought “The Brutalist” was a historical drama and that its main character, László Tóth was a real person. I guess I should have done a bit more research before I went to see it last night, but knowing too much in advance can spoil the experience, too.

Award-winning actor Adrian Brody is winning awards again with his moving portrayal of ex-patriot architect László Tóth, a man haunted by his past and struggling to adapt to 20th Century American life. His wife, Erzsébet (played by Felicity Jones of “The Aeronauts”) and niece Zsófia (Raffey Cassidy of “White Noise”) are stuck in war-ravaged Europe during the first third of this long film.

Tóth arrives in Philadelphia in 1947 and is taken in by his cousin, Attila (Alessandro Nivola of “American Hustle”) who runs a furniture store. Together they get a lucrative job remodeling a library for a rich industrialist, Harrison Lee Van Buren Sr. (Guy Pearce of “The Hurt Locker”).

There are problems with the project and Van Buren refuses to pay. Shortly afterward, Tóth is thrown out by his cousin. Tóth is doing manual labor when he is visited by Van Buren who has changed his mind about the remodel. He not only pays Tóth what he owes him, but he puts Tóth in charge of his next project, construction of a large community center.

Van Buren also arranges for Erzsébet and Zsófia to be brought to America, and arranges for all three to stay at Van Buren's property for the duration of the community center project. This would seem like a win, but their war experiences haunt them. Tóth has become a heroin addict because of pain management of his injuries, Erzsébet can't walk because of osteoporosis caused by famine and Zsófia can't talk because of post traumatic stress.

In addition, others involved in the community center project are interfering with Tóth's designs through cost-cutting measures. He is so upset by the alterations that he forfeits his fees in order to pay for the labor and materials needed to restore his vision of the community center. Finally some of the cost-cutting measures result in a railway accident that stops the whole project.

Tóth, Erzsébet and Zsófia all move on, but later, Van Buren seeks them out again because he finally wants to finish the community center project he started, but things go south again. In the end, Tóth, Erzsébet and Zsófia all become fed up with the corruption and hatred they encounter in America.

If this had been a historical drama, as I thought it was, it would seem strange that a film over three hours long would have left out so much of the story, but, since it is fiction, the point is moot. The characters in the movie did seem real, and that is a testament not only to the actors, but to writer-director Brady Corbet and co-writer Mona Fastvold.

This movie is three and a half hours long, but it doesn't seem that long because the story is compelling and so are the characters. The cinematography by Lol Crawley of “White Noise” is very imaginative. The film looks and sounds great. I finally got to see (this movie is not streaming and was released to only a few theaters at first) why this film is favored to win the Best Picture Academy Award this year. It rates an A.

Tech notes: This movie was actually shot on film, using a legacy filming technique called VistaVision (35mm film exposed horizontally, creating a widescreen format). It is being shown the preferred way in a very few theaters equipped with 70mm film projectors. Most theaters are showing this in 2K digital form. That is how I saw it. I assume it is also being shown in 4K. The film's credit sequences are also displayed in a highly unusual modular form.

Click here for links to places to buy or rent this movie in digital formats, or to buy the soundtrack, posters, books, even used videos, games, electronics and lots of other stuff (no extra charges apply). I suggest you shop at least two of these places before buying anything. Prices seem to vary continuously. For more information on this film, click on this link to The Internet Movie Database. Type in the name of the movie in the search box and press enter. You will be able to find background information on the film, the actors, and links to much more information.

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