Since the film is broken up into parts, I will do the same with my review.
OVERTURE – 🤩
The film opens with an intensity akin to a post-MAGNOLIA Paul Thomas Anderson. This is thanks to the immersive camera and bombastic score. Once I heard and saw the style, I was hooked to see where the hell this thing would go over its nearly four-run time.
PART I – 🤩
The most compelling section is the first and longest part. Adrien Brody portrays the immigrant experience in a way that few films have ever been able to capture. It felt like I was watching a biopic, even though I knew the character Brody was portraying was fictional.
INTERMISSION – 🤩
I’m thankful for the fifteen-minute break built into the film, allowing audiences to stretch their legs and take a much-needed biobreak.
PART II – 😊
Just when I fell in love with THE BRUTALIST, it took a sharp left turn and went from being a story of hope and redemption to one that was much more similar in style and tone to THERE WILL BE BLOOD. While Brody is the heart and soul of Part II, Guy Pierce steals the show with his dark, Trump-like portrayal. Also, Felicity Jones turns in another solid performance that will gain her a second Oscar nomination.
EPILOGUE 🤮
For all of the build-up, the film ends ambiguously. Yet, these aren’t frogs falling from the sky like in MAGNOLIA or bowling alley “I’m Finished” worthy like in THERE WILL BE BLOOD. It’s more opaque than that and left me wanting to know more about the “destination” and less about the “journey” I just went on.
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THE BRUTALIST will garner the most nominations out of any film in 2024 and is the front-runner to win Best Picture. However, the film is like a 75% brilliant epic that loses its way just past the three-hour mark. It sets the stage for Brady Corbet to become the next “it” director, and I hope he learns from Paul Thomas Anderson’s mistakes and, in his next film, lightens the mood ala LICORICE PIZZA.
It’s playing in limited release now.
