Featured in The 7PM Project: Episode dated 10 December 2024 (2024)
Chronology
When visionary architect László Toth and his wife Erzsébet flee post-war Europe in 1947 to rebuild their legacy and witness the birth of modern America, their lives are changed forever by a mysterious, wealthy client.. Filming took place for a total of 34 days between March 16 and May 5, 2023. It was shot in Budapest, Hungary and in Carrara, Italy.. Harrison Lee Van Buren Sr.: When dogs get sick, they often bite the hand of those who fed them, until someone mercifully puts them down.. Stark and daring, "Brutalism" was a name given to a style of modern architecture that flourished in the '50s and '60s.
Its sharp angles were formed of humble materials like rebar and concrete
Light and shadow danced dramatically across its sheer walls and through its bold windows. In a sense, "The Brutalist" — nominated for numerous Golden Globes including Best Drama — is a work of architecture, too. If you can get past the title and its three-and-a-half hour runtime, it offers epic visions of immigrant aspirations and the American dream (pro and con) through a highly stylized lens. Best Actor nominee Adrien Brody delivers a penetrating, fearless performance as László Toth, a brilliant Hungarian Jewish architect who survives the World War II carnage of his homeland and arrives at the feet of the Statue of Liberty hoping to begin anew. Lady Liberty is upside down on the poster because that’s the way she first appears to the immigrants emerging from the steerage holds of steamers.
Crossing paths with ultra-wealthy businessman Harrison Lee Van Buren Sr
László’s odyssey leads to the boundless optimism of post-war Philadelphia. His wife Erzsébet (Felicity Jones, another Globe nominee), will follow several years later with their niece Zsófia (Raffey Cassidy). In the meantime, the celebrated creator in his own country is relegated to a menial existence in his new homeland. Eating in soup kitchens, sleeping in shelters, shoveling coal to eke out a living. Will change both men’s fates Guy Pierce earns the film’s third Globe acting nomination with perhaps the best performance of his career.
and then back again
Urbane and handsome, the ultimate WASP patrician, Harrison’s mellifluous voice and carefully chosen words mark a striking contrast with László’s still awkward foreignness. Although their first encounter is disastrous, Van Buren soon admits not only admiration but envy of the immigrant’s genius, enlisting him to create a monumental cultural center and memorial to his late mother. The project will link them for years, as the monolithic structure slowly rises atop a hill on the Van Buren estate. Theirs is a union of opposites, each man possessing a strong will and indomitable ego. Their relationship, and their families' as well, it evolves from master and hired help, through the bonds of collaborators to the intimacy of brothers …
The film’s soundtrack is also a work of art in its own right
Director/co-writer Brady Corbet seems to share his characters' great confidence in their own abilities. At age 36, his evolution from actor to A-list filmmaker invites comparisons to a young Orson Welles' arrival in Hollywood with the groundbreaking "Citizen Kane." Considering that "The Brutalist" budget was under $10 million, its sheer scale and scope, not to mention its singular sense of style, are jaw-dropping miracles. Along with Lol Crawley’s dazzling cinematography, Brady works historical and industrial footage of the era into the production design. It features perfectly curated songs in its montage of historical radio broadcasts, advertisements and ambient noises. Meditating on the price — and rewards — of genius, at an even deeper level "The Brutalist" shows the price of assimilation.