THE BRUTALIST

László Tóth (Adrien Brody), a Jewish-Hungarian architect who survived World War II, immigrates to the US in search of a new life. He soon meets and begins working for a wealthy client, Harrison Lee Van Buren Sr. (Guy Pearce), who tasks him with building a center dedicated to his late mother. During his time in America, László begins to understand the American dream may not be for "people like him." A lot of buzz is currently surrounding this film and for good reason. It's a 3 hour and 34 minute film but it never drags or loses your attention. The presentation is in the style of the big epics of yesteryear complete with an overture to open with, followed by a 15 minute intermission. In addition, both Pearce and Brody give wonderful performances, some of the best of both of their careers. I can easily agree more with Brody being nominated for an award than Pearce (not to take anything away from him). I was more impressed with Adrien's performance over Guy's when you compare the two. The film also features Felicity Jones as László's wife Erzsébet, but unfortunately, she's not utilized to her full potential as she doesn't make her first appearance until the second half and even then it's at times sporadic. Although László, Erzsébet, and László's niece Zsófia (Raffey Cassidy) are Holocaust survivors, the film doesn't show or really mention the war too much but rather their life and assimilation to life in America. However, László has he own ways of dealing with his experience which is a theme throughout the picture. It is a great film and I implore potential viewers to not be scared away by the runtime as the reward of the experience is worth it. In addition, between the intermission, which again is 15 minutes, and the credits are an additional 5, the film itself is 3 hours and 14 minutes. A satisfying film but not a classic some have said it is in the reviews and trailers. 7/10