{"id":152439,"date":"2024-12-20T17:55:34","date_gmt":"2024-12-20T17:55:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hollywoodintoto.com\/?p=2042131"},"modified":"2024-12-20T17:55:34","modified_gmt":"2024-12-20T17:55:34","slug":"the-brutalist-a-flawed-but-fascinating-epic","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gamefootballmobileanimeiphone.com\/index.php\/2024\/12\/20\/the-brutalist-a-flawed-but-fascinating-epic\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018The Brutalist\u2019 \u2013 A Flawed but Fascinating Epic"},"content":{"rendered":"

Brady Corbet\u2019s \u201cThe Brutalist\u201d opens with a knockout sequence.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Toth, an architect (Adrien Brody) who fled his country and arrives in America by boat, emerges outside the seacraft and sees, at a cockeyed angle, the Statue of Liberty.<\/p>\n

The image also graces the film\u2019s poster. Corbet, who reportedly directed this epic-scaled period drama for around $10 million, takes us into the story with an approach that is as literary as it is demonstratively cinematic.<\/p>\n

\"YouTube<\/a><\/p>\n

We learn that Toth is coming to America in 1947 and begins his new life by working in a furniture store. He awaits the opportunity to bring his wife (an affecting Felicity Jones) stateside. A chance encounter with a hot-tempered Van Buren (Guy Pearce) suggests his entry into the U.S. has been professionally derailed.<\/p>\n

Actually, it presents the beginning of the tough journey ahead.<\/p>\n

Much of \u201cThe Brutalist\u201d feels like an E.L. Doctorow novel adapted by Bernardo Bertolucci (the early goings reminded me of Bertolucci\u2019s \u201c1900\u201d and \u201cThe Conformist\u201d as much as Doctorow\u2019s \u201cRagtime\u201d and \u201cBilly Bathgate\u201d).<\/p>\n

The storytelling is confident and unhurried, and the characters are as intriguing as the narrative. I was swept up in the telling, even as there is an episodic quality to the structure, which comes with chapter headings. Frankly, I\u2019m glad Corbet decided to make this a theatrical release and not break it up into a televised mini-series.<\/p>\n

The decision to film this in Vista-Vision<\/a> alone makes it an event on the big screen, as the cinematography is full of aesthetic beauty as much as clever angles for audience immersion (I love a stolen moment when we watch an intimate conversation through cigarette smoke).<\/p>\n

Brody has always been a generous, hard-working actor, whether in films like this and \u201cThe Pianist\u201d (2002) or when he\u2019s overqualified to enhance pulpy popcorn flicks like \u201cThe Jacket\u201d (2005) and \u201cPredators\u201d (2010). He\u2019s incredible in \u201cThe Brutalist,\u201d giving Toth enough dimension and inner life to often make me forget I was watching the former star of \u201cKing Kong\u201d (2005).<\/p>\n

Pearce is also excellent, allowing an ambiguity and feeling of distrust to never entirely leave his equally complex characterization.<\/p>\n

The three-hour and twenty-minute running time will be a major issue for most. I suspect the temptation is to either go all in or decide to wait for the inevitable, far less encapsulating streaming premiere.<\/p>\n

Look, even if you have a big-screen TV with solid surround sound, don\u2019t miss the opportunity to see this the way it\u2019s meant to be seen. If there\u2019s a good-sized theater near you or you are among the lucky to have an IMAX theater in town, this is worth the trip.<\/p>\n

Is \u201dThe Brutalist\u201d as great as everyone seems to claim? I enjoyed and admired Corbet\u2019s film but I have some caveats.<\/p>\n

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A post shared by A24 (@a24)<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n