Man, how do I go about this one? I love A24 and have enjoyed more of their movies than I have not. I also think that Adrian Brody (The Pianist, Asteroid City), Felicity Jones (The Amazing Spider-Man 2. Inferno), and Guy Pearce (Prometheus, Iron Man 3) are fantastic actors. The Brutalist had many things that I am a fan and the movie was a massive success, winning a ton of awards. Yet, despite that, this movie just did not click with me.
How to Download The Brutalist
The Brutalist was released on December 20, 2024. You can download or stream the film from a digital platform. Click on the Download button at the end of this review and make your choice.
The Movie Review
Hey, if you love The Brutalist, more power to you and I am happy you enjoyed it, at the end of the day, I can only give my honest opinion on how I enjoyed a movie. The Brutalist feels like complete Oscar bait. It feels very pretentious and self indulgent, as Peter Griffin from Family Guy would say, “It insists upon itself”. All jokes aside, I can see why it won so many awards and why so many people love it, it just was not for me.
It tells the story of a Hungarian immigrant called Laszlo Toth, played by Adrien Brody. Laszlo is a Holocaust survivor and he is a fantastic architect and he is heading to America for his piece of the American Dream. However, he is making this trip alone as his wife Felicity Jones’ Erzsebet, and his niece, Zsofia are denied entry and have to stay behind in the meantime.
The Brutalist’s First Half
The first half of The Brutalist was something that I did like. The story of the hardships that Laszlo was facing and how he was treated was brutal stuff indeed. This poor guy just could not catch a break and when he thinks that his dreams come true when he is hired by a wealthy man called Harrison, it ends up making his life even harder and more heartbreaking
The Performances in The Brutalist
While most of the attention for The Brutalist has been given to Adrien Brody and it is well deserved. Guy Pearce as Harrison is just fantastic, it is such a horrible role that he plays here and he plays it to perfection. Multiple times, I wanted to reach through the screen and punch Harrison in his stupid mustached face!
The Brutalist’s Length
If you want something quick and chill, The Brutalist is not for you. This movie comes in at three and a half hours and I did learn that in the theatre, it had an intermission! What was the last movie that had an intermission, off the top of my head, Titanic is the only one I can think of. The thing is, this is a three and a half hour movie that well and truly felt like a three and a half hour movie. This movie dragged for me, I did not hate it and it was brutal seeing what happened to Laszlo and his family, but this did not click for me.
The Ending of The Brutalist
Look, not every movie needs a big happy Hollywood ending I get that, but after three and a half hours, I felt that the payoff was not worth it. Hey, I am like 95 percent in the minority here as I know many people who disagree with me. However, when the movie ended, I had a sort of “that is it??” reaction as I just felt kind of flat and honestly, like I could have done something better with that three and a half hours.
Acting and Visuals in The Brutalist
To be fair, the acting in this movie is fantastic, I truly do not see how the actors could have committed to their parts any more than they did. Also, The Brutalist is a fantastic looking movie, there are so many shots that have a real “artsy” look and feel to them. Sure, I said that the movie was pretentious and me saying that is pretty pretentious, but the costume designs and the way the movie looks so authentic was something I did appreciate.
Final Thoughts on The Brutalist
I picked this up on Blu-Ray and I was very excited to watch it as I had heard nothing but great things about it. However, this is not staying in my collection, I have already given the Blu-Ray to my grandparents and guess what, they loved it! I know that most people who have seen this loved it and that is awesome. For me, this was a real slog to get through and I cannot think of any circumstances where I will watch it again. Hey, if you love it, that is awesome, life would be boring if we all liked the same things.
