THE BRUTALIST-Artfsy Film that is More a Bore than Anything Else

The award season just culminated with the Oscars on Sunday. The post-WWII epic THE BRUTALIST is the type of film which appeals more to critics and Film Academy than the general public. THE BRUTALIST was one of this year's top 10 films and received the most combined awards and nominations than any other film from 2024. However, of the 10 Oscar noms., the Brutalist won only 3; for Best Actor, Best Cinematography and Best Film Score. I applaud the award given for its cinematography and brilliant musical score by British composer Daniel Blumberg. Brody took home his 2nd Oscar for playing two similar characters; both roles were Jewish artists and survivors of the Holocaust. Brody gave a heartfelt portrayal, the original music was moving and the crafty cinematography mesmerizing, but the 3 1/2 hour+ movie is not as moving as intended. Lazlo Toth (Adrian Brody) is a visionary architect whose career and family life were destrhoyed when they were sent to the concentration camps. The film beings in 1947 when Toth first arrived in NYC and moved in with a cousin living in Philadelphia. Toth's wife, Erzsebet (a miscast Felicity Jones) was separated from her husband. She's in a displacement camp and receives news of her husband's survival. The film's unnecessary intermission bifurcated the movie. The first half is about Toth's adjusting to life in the US and his seemingly fortuitous introduction to the wealthy HarryVan Buren (Joe Alwyn) requesting him to design and construct a library for his father, Harry Van Buren Sr. (a formidable Guy Pearce). Following the interruption of the intermission, the Toths are reunited and  learning to readjust to each other. Erzsebet. unbeknownst to Lazlo, relies on a wheel-chair due to malnourishment. Erzebet brought Lazlo's deceased sister's daughter, Zsofia, to the states with her. The horrors of war rendered her shell-shocked and mute. The movie's time-line is an epoch that draws on a crucial period post WWII. The film focused on the aftermath of the war, the euphoria and sorrow of having survived and the myriad struggles to adapt, assimilate and build a future in a foreign country. The black/white cinematography is particularly arresting especially when show casing architectural structures. Toth's emergence as a modernist architect and his sense of his talent was notable. The Van Burens were portrayed as stereotypes; rich people assuming themselves entitled and superior. The storylines of addiction and racism are backwashed and more references given to historical events would have given the film a stronger structure. THE BRUTALIST is a prototype of filmmaking that stands up to be admired but this one relied too much on pure aesthetic values and had diminished emotional strength. The Acad. was right to recognize it worthy of recognition and not crown it with Best Picture, Best Director or Best Screenplay honors.