Corbet designs the American dream/nightmare in ‘The Brutalist’

Cinema | December 17th, 2024

By Greg Carlson

Brady Corbet, the American screen actor turned auteur, is only 36 years old. He doesn’t enjoy the same level of fan adoration that accompanies the projects of Paul Thomas Anderson, Wes Anderson, Christopher Nolan and the like, but one imagines that the filmmaker hopes that his third feature film could change that status. Alexandra Schwartz’s fresh profile of Corbet and “The Brutalist” in The New Yorker acknowledges the risks of old-fashioned epic moviemaking and the creation of “art without compromise,” setting the scene with Corbet’s disarming line: “You really have to dare to suck to transcend.” The loaded statement, like the sometimes painful choices made by Adrien Brody’s Hungarian architect László Tóth in the film, invites multiple interpretations.

In one sense, the line appears to insulate Corbet from any detractors, a kind of “critic-proofing” against those who might dare suggest that this massive movie, apparently cruising to all kinds of award-season acclaim, is not quite the masterpiece announced by, among other things, the VistaVision production, stylish credits presentation, fifteen-minute intermission, Lol Crawley’s photography and Daniel Blumberg’s score. Along with those assets, “The Brutalist” never fails to keep us interested in the roller coaster saga of heroin addict/concentration camp survivor Tóth, who is repeatedly faced with the dilemma of being a poor man in a rich man’s house following a commission to design a staggering civic center and place of worship for the kind of people who can only tolerate him.

“The Brutalist” was written by Corbet with his partner Mona Fastvold and, at its best, there are wondrous moments of visual expression. Classic American themes of the immigrant story are fully integrated into the drama. In the film’s first part, titled “The Enigma of Arrival,” Alessandro Nivola steals several scenes as László’s cousin Attila. Some will prefer that section of the film to the more mysterious “The Hard Core of Beauty,” despite the second part’s crystallization of László’s sad descent into a prison of his own making and the self-destruction that comes with it.

For all its massive scale, “The Brutalist” does not open up beyond its core cast the way that “The Godfather” or “Heaven’s Gate” breathed life and vitality into fascinating supporting characters. Isaach de Bankolé’s loyal Gordon is frustratingly underutilized. Raffey Cassidy, who plays orphan niece Zsófia, is another missed opportunity. Joe Alwyn and Stacy Martin, as the twin children of Guy Pearce’s Harrison Lee Van Buren, fare only a tiny bit better. Even Felicity Jones, locked in a multi-front battle with her wheelchair, her hairstyles and her accent, cannot overcome the narrowly conceived function of a thankless position as the pragmatic Erzsébet, László’s suffering spouse.

The title bout and main event, unquestionably, is László versus Harrison, each desiring something that the other possesses. Both Brody and Pearce wrestle generous depth and nuance from the frequently on-the-nose writing for their characters. And even though you feel like you can see it coming from a mile away, the grim climax in their relationship is a jaw-dropping exclamation point/microphone drop that will earn Corbet as many hisses as ovations. Perhaps it is the proximity to the results of the most recent election, but the parallels between Harrison and the once and future leader of the United States might leave you with a queasy stomach and a bad taste in your mouth.

RECENTLY IN

Recently in: