TIFF 2024: The Brutalist Review

This will be one of many reviews during this year’s Toronto International Film Festival, to keep up with our latest coverage, click here.

The Brutalist is the latest film from director Brady Corbet, after the divisive Vox Lux. The story centers around László Toth (Brody), a Jewish Hungarian architect and Holocaust survivor fleeing post-war Europe to build a new life in America, and his visionary ideas that could bring rebirth to America. However, his entire worldview is changed when he is introduced to a wealthy businessman named Harrison Lee Van Buren (Pearce). That is basically what audiences need to know going into the film. Best going in blind, the twists and turns that await are revelatory.

The Brutalist is a new Hollywood epic in the same vein of classics like Gone with the Wind and Lawrence of Arabia. Clocking in at over three and a half hours long, it may be a very long movie but it is so engrossing that it will feel a lot faster. Not a single moment is wasted. The cinematography is sweeping, where every frame is perfectly articulated, and the score adds such cinematic grandeur, that it sounds amazing on the big screen. Impressive in scale, its story could easily have faltered if it had been in the wrong hands. Corbet understands how to add cinematic depth within every single moment. Featuring an overture and a fifteen minute intermission, the film is a seismic event in the way very few movies do in today’s day and age. By the opening shot, it is clear that it is in capable hands of filmmakers who appreciate and love the craft.

Aside from being a technical achievement, the film boasts an incredibly poignant story. Brody delivers not only one of the best performances of his career, but also the best performance of the year so far. Giving his heart and soul to László, his aspirational nature is reminiscent of Jimmy Stewart’s George Bailey in It’s a Wonderful Life. He’s an identifiable character because of his journey to achieve the American Dream, despite his past struggles. Along with Brody’s performance, Jones, as László’s wife Erzsébet, is just as incredible, accentuated a powerful scene towards the end of the film that will have one’s heart racing off the strength of her performance alone. Pearce, meanwhile, shows a great cunning spirit as a character that will make anyone’s skin crawl.

Though the story is an inspirational one, it also has a dark side. This film’s portrayal of greed, grit, and the human condition is reminiscent of There Will Be Blood. While there are moments that are so intense, riveting, and disturbing, there are tender and intimate moments as well, making those dark moments all the more horrifying. The sheer range of emotions on display throughout is remarkable, aided by an incredible screenplay worthy of an Academy Award.

The central message of the film is one that will inevitably be debated for years to come. Is the journey worth the destination? While the journey to fulfill a vision is one filled with pain, ultimately, once that journey is complete, at least there was something to show for it. In the end, that is what the film is all about, the sacrifice it takes in order to create one’s vision. Here, Brady Corbet here has achieved his vision. The Brutalist is an undeniable masterpiece and easily one of the best films of the year.

still courtesy of A24

If you liked this, please read our other reviews here and don’t forget to follow us on Twitter or Instagram or like us on Facebook.

Brett Schutt

toyboxd.com/