The Brutalist (2024) (1 Viewer)

[Jeffrey D]

Available today for purchase on all streaming platforms for $19.99.

I’m sure you’ll place an order.

 

[Tino]

I’m sure you’ll place an order.

Ya know I’m almost curious to see it again just to see if I react as negatively..almost.

 

[SamT]

I did not like this at all. Can't imagine winning any Oscars.

 

[Tino]

I did not like this at all. Can't imagine winning any Oscars.

I agree But it certainly will win a few tonight. Most likely Best Actor. Best Cinematography and best score.

 

[Tino]

Ya know I’m almost curious to see it again just to see if I react as negatively..almost.

So for the record I rewatched about 2/3 of it recently and while I didn’t hate it as much as my first viewing, it really didn’t improve much.

 

[Winston T. Boogie]

Brady Corbet did a Criterion Closet episode recently. During his time in the closet he said Salo was one of his favorite films of all time and that to me said a lot. Now, I can see someone saying it is a good film or an important film or a film people have to see, particularly with what we are living through now in this country, but favorite film? Damn, I've seen Salo I think 3 times and each time I felt like that would be the last time I watch that.

It's a dark and really unpleasant watch. He loves it.

 

[mskaye]

Brady Corbet did a Criterion Closet episode recently. During his time in the closet he said Salo was one of his favorite films of all time and that to me said a lot. Now, I can see someone saying it is a good film or an important film or a film people have to see, particularly with what we are living through now in this country, but favorite film? Damn, I've seen Salo I think 3 times and each time I felt like that would be the last time I watch that.

It's a dark and really unpleasant watch. He loves it.

I came away impressed with his knowledge of film and his eclectic taste. People would think my top ten films are on the bleak and dark side too. Salo is pretty extreme but I'd rather sit through that 3 times than Titanic.

 

[Winston T. Boogie]

I came away impressed with his knowledge of film and his eclectic taste. People would think my top ten films are on the bleak and dark side too. Salo is pretty extreme but I'd rather sit through that 3 times than Titanic.

Yeah, I mean I see the value of a film like Salo and particularly what it is saying. I am fine with dark films and I do think they have their place. I mean some stories are dark and so to tell them you have to go there. Oddly, yeah, I have sat through Salo three times, never have made it all the way through Titanic.

I have never avoided dark films but as I have aged, I find I'm not as interested in delving into that. Lately, I feel like I want some hope and light. I guess because things in the world have taken such a dark turn, I don't really want piling on from a film.

 

[Tino]

Lol. Brody’s Oscar acceptance speech was as long, dull, and indulgent as the film.

Adrien Brody criticised for ‘self-indulgent’ moment at Oscars

Adrien Brody has won a slew of awards for his role playing Hungarian-Jewish architect Laszlo Toth, who flees from post-war Europe to the US

www.standard.co.uk

 

[mskaye]

Lol. Brody’s Oscar acceptance speech was as long, dull, and indulgent as the film.

Adrien Brody criticised for ‘self-indulgent’ moment at Oscars

Adrien Brody has won a slew of awards for his role playing Hungarian-Jewish architect Laszlo Toth, who flees from post-war Europe to the US

www.standard.co.uk

For the record I wanted ANORA to win but I have a feeling history will be very kind to The Brutalist. In a Barry Lyndon-ish sort of way.

 

[Tino]

I have a feeling history will be very kind to The Brutalist.

I was discussing this very issue with a screenwriter friend of mine and said the opposite. I believe it will soon be forgotten.

I didn’t see your review. What did you think of it?

 

[TravisR]

I was discussing this very issue with a screenwriter friend of mine and said the opposite. I believe it will soon be forgotten.

I think it hinges on Brady Corbet's future. If he lives up to the hype and continues making movies that are well received and get awards, I think The Brutalist will be viewed very favorably in ten or twenty years. If he just kinda fades away after another movie or two then I think The Brutalist will too.

 

[JoeStemmex]

Now streaming on HBO MAX
My full take:
THE BRUTALIST (2024) HBO Max. Brady Corbet's ambitious film about a rugged individualist is not truly an epic despite it's length (215 minutes including intermission). It's more of a deep, detailed portrait. That isn't to say the movie doesn't have size and scope (which it certainly does with its audacious look and sound), but it's more intimate.

Corbet and Mona Fasvold's screenplay centers on Laszlo Toth (Adrien Brody), a Jewish Hungarian holocaust survivor who escapes to theUnited States, but is separated from his wife Erzsebet (Felicity Jones) and mute niece Zsofia (Raffey Cassidy). Toth was a noted architect before the German occupation. He emigrates to Philadelphia and stays with his cousin Atilla (Alessandro Nivola). It's a rocky relationship, but it does yield a job building a private library fora wealthy businessman Harrison Lee Van Buren (Guy Pearce) and his son Harry (Joe Alwyn). Unfortunately, it ends in disaster and Toth is out on the streets again doing menial labor. Fatefully, Harrison re-enters Toth's life a few years later and hires him for an even larger project – building a large community center. When Toth's wife and niece are finally allowed to join him, it's less than joyous as Erzsebet in now infirmed with a debilitating disease.

Toth is a difficult character. His brilliance as a visionary is matched by his arrogance and selfishness. He succumbs to not only those traits, but also to substance addictions. Toth's setbacks are a burden but he does himself no favors with how he deals with them. The Oscar-winning Brody is very good here, showing all aspects of his flawed, solitary personality. Jones is also praiseworthy as his strong-willed wife. Together they do their best to assimilate in gentile society, but it's always clear that the Van Buren's' tolerate' them, rather than genuinely take them into their bosom. Harry, the son, is appropriately deemed a 'snake'.

Corbet's decision to have cinematographer Lol Crawley shoot in 35mm Vista Vision pays off with some impressive landscapes and traveling shots (roads, trains etc.). Similarly, Daniel Blumberg's expansive score makes it all feel more grand (each also won Oscars). Judy Becker's production design does wonders on a modest budget.

Still, what's odd here is that for a three and a half hour film, it feels incomplete. A lot of events happen, but one never feels that you get inside Toth. The finale is unsatisfactory with a reveal that is too base and bald a symbol. The epilogue is an awkward way to sum up such a long journey. The acting and production is at a high level and make it all worthwhile. Brutalism as architecture is defined by an almost lack of style and beauty. Corbet's film has plenty of both ,but leaves its protagonist a bit of a blank. A brutalist indeed.

THE BRUTALISTis currently streaming on MAX and it's available to rent. It's onDVD, Blu Ray and 4K UHD.

 

[Winston T. Boogie]

I am going to watch this soon. I've been putting it off but I am really curious to see what sort of film it is and if Brady Corbet is a director to keep an eye on. I want to support this film because Corbet supposedly made no money making this, sacrificed greatly, and I feel like a work like this is the kind of film I want to see get made.

 

[Tino]

I am going to watch this soon. I've been putting it off but I am really curious to see what sort of film it is and if Brady Corbet is a director to keep an eye on. I want to support this film because Corbet supposedly made no money making this, sacrificed greatly, and I feel like a work like this is the kind of film I want to see get made.

Looking forward to your thoughts. You already know how I feel about it.