The Brutalist - Blog Posts
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Snub winner for each category will go head-to-head with official nominations winner
*send an ask to submit a snub
Snub winner for each category will go head-to-head with official nominations winner
*send an ask to submit a snub
Snub winner for each category will go head-to-head with official nominations winner
*send an ask to submit a snub
Snub winner for each category will go head-to-head with official nominations winner
*send an ask to submit a snub
Snub winner for each category will go head-to-head with official nominations winner
*send an ask to submit a snub
Snub winner for each category will go head-to-head with official nominations winner
When Harrison told Lázló twice within the same ten minutes that he found their conversations "intel·lectually stimulating" (Lázló hadn't said shit), I leant into my friend and told her: "yeah, he wants to stimulate something else". Lo and behold, I was right.
Every movie that starts out by emphasizing the heterosexuality of the main character is bound to be a bit wierd, if you know what I mean. At the halfpoint, I was upset that there weren't any compelling female characters.
The Brutalist is a film about a man, like many a movie. Specifically, László Tóth, a brutalist (ha) architect with a very baroque character. It's a story about his survival, ascent and downfall, all told by the entering and leaving of people from his life.
First, Atilla, the kind family that was going to host them until they could get settled. I really loved how affectionate they were with each other, it contrasted with the previous scene (the "i'm straight guys" scene i mentioned) and defied my expectations. I really enjoyed the relationship they had, and was sad at the betrayal of Audrey. This marks a period of relative happiness at having a place to express his creativity, and is what eventually gets László into contact with Harrison.
Second is Harry Lee Van Buren, who made me laugh so much when he started talking. I don't live in an english speaking country, so people that talk like game show hosts probably exist, but it was just so funny to me and i don't know what to think about that. Regardless, I liked his character and it provided a good segway into knowing Harrison.
Harrison, the third important character of the first part, is a rich architecture snob that reallyappreciates László's thoughtful humming. At this point, I really appreciated the sincerity shared between Harrison and László, Harrison seemed very human.
The second part is where everything comes crashing down. Firstly, we meet László's wife, Erzsébet. I really really liked her. One of our first impressions of her is that masturbatory scene and I was like,,, you go girl. I do think that this movie falls into the trope of "women are interesting because they're tragic" (Erzsébet spends most of her time upset about things or being upset by other people), but most of the characters of this movie are tragic, so... it's fine? I guess? Also, I found the depiction of her chronic pain satisfying (I don't have any chronic pain, but Felicity Jones is an amazing actress, and it seemed realistic from what I've heard from other people).
The disappointment in the second part was that, I really thought the drug addiction and such would go into a different direction, I mean this in two ways: even though I accidentally "predicted" the rape, I insinuate homoeroticism in all the characters ever; basically, it came a bit out of nowhere? And, I loved that the reason Erzsébet died was because of László's vice, and also one of the only moments she seemed completely satisfied.
This film didn't have a clear cut moral, or a point (or maybe I'm just blind), but it was an amazing story. I liked all the characters overall, and it was just that: different personalities interacting in the Penisvania of the past. I remember thinking that the film ended a bit abruptly, but nevertheless, I enjoyed it.
The Brutalist script + art
George Grosz, Cafe 1, c. 1920s // Saul Leiter, Untitled (100193), 1950-1980 (detail) // Jerry Opper, Abstract Fireworks, 1940-1950s
