Historical epic films have quite a history. Originating in the early 20th Century, moviegoers have seen a variety of works that cover various eras and settings alike. Some of the earliest epics included D.W. Griffith’s woefully-racist The Birth of a Nation (1915) and the equally-problematic Gone WIth The Wind (1939), both of which presented politically-incorrect depictions of black characters and romanticized the Confederate way of life. As the 20th Century moved towards its middle, historical films became more wide in scope, such as the romantic WWII epic From  Here To Eternity, the sprawling Texas family drama Giant, the Biblical epic The Ten Commandments, the excellent war picture A Bridge On The River Kwai, and the lofty Best Picture winner of 1959, Ben-Hur.  

In the 1960s, cinema witnessed the likes of Lawrence of Arabia, Cleopatra, The Longest Day,  Doctor Zhivago, and The Green Berets. In the 1970s, the historical drama slowed down, with  the exceptions of Patton and A Bridge Too Far. There were a few successful historical epics in the 1980s like Chariots of Fire and Reds (both in 1981), Gandhi, Amadeus, and The Last  Emperor, but the genre was waning in power and popularity. In the 1990s, there was a bit of a  resurgence with epics like Dances With Wolves, Braveheart, The English Patient, Titanic and  Saving Private Ryan. More recently, the genre has seen new examples like Sam Mendes’ war  drama 1917, Edward Berger’s All Quiet on The Western Front, and Christopher Nolan’s epic thrillers Dunkirk and Oppenheimer. 

Now, it poses this writer to ask an important question. How can one deliver an epic story in a  manner that hasn’t been done before? And what stories are left to tell? 

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The Brutalist is the answer to that question, and it is the latest historical epic to make a big  impact on Hollywood. Directed by former teen actor turned indie filmmaker Brady Corbet (Lox),  the movie covers a period of thirty-three years from post-war America circa 1947 to Europe in  1980. What makes it even more impressive is how the vast film was produced on a budget just  under a mere $10 million. The film was co-written by Corbet and his partner Mona Fastvold,  who have collaborated on a number of projects together. It covers themes of power, control,  adaptability, obsession, and trauma. Clocking in at three and a half hours, the movie is both a  throwback to historical epics of the past, yet looking and feeling like a contemporary work. 

Laszlo Toth (Adrien Brody) leaves Europe for America in the wake of World War II. Back in his native Hungary, he was known as an accomplished Bauhaus-educated architect with a keen eye for visuals. During the war, he was sent to the Buchenwald concentration camp. Upon  arriving in the United States, Laszlo has to start life all over again while attempting to resume  his career in architecture. What motivates him to keep going is the thought of bringing his wife  Erzsebet (Felicity Jones) and young niece Zsofia (Raffey Cassidy) over from Europe.  Unfortunately, due to differences in accreditation rules, Laszlo’s architecture credentials do not  qualify him to be a licensed architect in America. He initially settles in with his cousin Attila  (Alejandro Nivola) and wife Audrey (Emma Laird) in Philadelphia while they are working at the local furniture store. Attila and Audrey are in a seemingly happy marriage, but it becomes  apparent to Laszlo that Attila has converted to being Catholic and has changed his name in order to assimilate as an immigrant.  

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While working in the furniture store, Laszlo has a chance encounter with Harrison “Harry” Lee Van Buren Junior (Joe Alwyn), who offers them the chance to completely redesign the library of his wealthy father Harrison Senior (Guy Pearce). Laszlo jumps at the chance to do so, because it means using his talents, the chance to make money, and future possibilities of employment. During this period, he and Attila happily set to work designing and building the new library, but the mood is spoiled when the elder Van Buran returns home and angrily condemns them for changing things around without his permission. Further complicating the situation, Harry  refuses to pay Laszlo and Attila for their effort. Laszlo ends up getting evicted by Attila for what the latter believes was a pass at Audrey, whereas Laszlo was actually declining her romantic overtures directed at him. It becomes apparent that Attila is looking for an excuse to vent his anger about the library incident. 

Three years later, in 1950, Laszlo is working as part of a construction crew and still hoping to bring his family over to America. No longer speaking with Attila, he lives in charity housing and develops a friendship with fellow construction worker Gordon (Isaach de Bankole), a black man who empathizes with his struggles in trying to make a living. Laszlo also develops a  recreational addiction to heroin, which he takes to dull his traumatic memories of losing family members during the Holocaust. Van Buren comes back into his life and tries to apologize for his previous outburst, citing his elderly mother was dying at the time. He ended up keeping Laszlo’s modern design for the library, which won a lot of admiration and praise from upper class society. Upon doing research into his background, Harrison realizes that Laszlo was telling the truth and pays him the money that he was owed. Laszlo is invited to a party at Harrison’s estate, where he meets Harry once more and discovers the latter has a twin sister, Maggie (Stacy Martin). Harrison reveals he is keen to hire Laszlo for a new project: a building complex called the Van Buren Institute that will serve as a tribute to his deceased mother. It will be a community centre that includes a theatre, a library, a gymnasium, and a chapel. Since the older man shows seemingly contrite behaviour, Laszlo agrees to work for him on a new project, and Harrison helps secure him an architectural license. 

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As work progresses on the Van Buren Institute, Laszlo becomes deeply focused on realizing  Harrison’s vision, but he continues fuelling his heroin addiction. Upon making enough money, he is able to bring his family over to Pittsburgh. By this time, Erzebet is now in a wheelchair due to having lost mobility from osteoporosis brought on due to famine, and their niece Zsofia  has become mute due to trauma she and her aunt encountered at Dachua concentration camp. While the fate of her parents is never explicitly stated, it is pretty clear that they perished in the Holocaust. As Erzebet and Zsofia attempt to settle into their new life, Laszlo becomes even  more erratic and driven to finish the community centre, which leads to him clashing with Harrison’s consulting partners and workers. It is clear that Harrison wants to make changes and cut costs in order to stay within the budget. After reasoning with his employer, Laszlo accepts the offer to work unpaid to save expenses. 

While construction continues to proceed, Harry shows a more aggressive side by delivering  sexually-charged comments at Zsofia. He also attempts to bully Laszlo by saying he is only  being tolerated for his architectural skills. When Harry harasses and assaults Zsofia, it prompts her and Erzsebet to leave Philadelphia, but Laszlo wishes to keep working on the project. A train carrying the building supplies causes schedule delays and rising costs, which results in Harrison firing everyone and scrapping the community centre plans. Laszlo reluctantly abandons his work and takes his family to New York City. Three years later, he has gained employment as a drafter for an architectural firm, and he’s enjoying his new career.  Erzsebet is working as a journalist and has regained her health. Meanwhile, Zsofia has managed to speak again, married an immigrant, and is pregnant with her first child. This inspires her to leave America and resettle in Israel, which does not sit well with her aunt and uncle. After Harrison revives the Van Buren Institute construction, Laszlo leaves his drafting job and resumes designing the building, which causes Erzsebet to become deeply concerned. It is quite clear to her that Laszlo will not abandon his creation or his former employer, who is  wielding an excessive amount of power over him. Now, Laszlo and Erzsebet must decide what decision they will make for themselves once and for all.

Adrien Brody delivers a quiet yet moving performance as Laszlo. Having shot to fame with his  Oscar-winning role in The Pianist (2002), the actor succeeds in making one believe in the  suffering of Laszlo. He shows a cerebral, complex aspect to his character and makes him  nuance. Brody is especially powerful in scenes where he’s mapping out both major and minor details, which shows a keen eye and intelligence. His somber body language and silent  episodes depict a man who’s experienced trauma and is trying to hold himself together. A late  night conversation with Erzsebet has him bemoaning that they are not welcome in the United  States, which is devastating to hear. It is both moving and heartbreaking to watch this  individual pushing ahead with his life while crumbling mentally and emotionally. 

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Felicity Jones has a sense of delicacy and depth as Erzsebet. Some of her best scenes are  with Brody, in which she brings out his more gentle side. Jones’ sensitive nature masks a tough  demeanour, in which she pushes back against injustices being thrown in her direction. Her quiet strength is especially apparent in the film’s second half, particularly a sense where she  stands up for her husband against his tormentors. The result is a deeply shocking yet powerful  moment to behold, and it is one of Jones’ most memorable moments as an actress.  

It is Guy Pearce who steals the show from Brody. The veteran Australian actor brings charisma  and intensity to the role of Harrison Van Buren. Initially, he comes off as stuffy and dislikable,  before revealing a more amiable side to his personality. Yet as time passes, the character shows a strong, controlling nature that is increasingly hard to ignore. His most intense scene comes in the third act where he coldly refers to Laszlo and other Jewish immigrants as being societal leeches who bring about their own persecution. It is never explained exactly why he acts the way he does, but a second act monologue suggests his mother’s illegitimate status caused him to feel a deep sense of shame. Granted, this Freudian attempt to explain his desire for control doesn’t excuse some of his more heinous actions, but it does shed some light as to  what shaped him as a person. 

The rest of the cast does well with their roles. Joe Alywn (who shot to fame with Boy Erased)  provides an oily, weasel-type sort of vibe to Harry, and it is chilling to see him echo Pearce in  various ways. Initially pleasant and charming, he quickly shows an odious side to his nature. This is what makes the character most chilling: the faux-affability masks a darker aspect of his true character. Stacy Martin brings a warm-hearted sense of compassion to Maggie, and it is quite a relief when she shows kindness to Laszlo and Erzebet. Raffey Cassidy is quite good as Zsofia, who spends the first portion of her screen time mute. Cassidy makes the character deep and introspective by relying on facial expressions and body language. Upon finding her voice, she manages to display a quiet sense of maturity and resolve, and the family  argument over her moving to Israel is a painful moment to watch. 

Corbet’s direction of The Brutalist is impressive to behold. Having been in the planning for eight  years, the film was meant to go into production with a different cast in 2020, but the COVID-19  pandemic put those efforts on hold. Despite being mostly set in America, the movie was largely  shot in Budapest, Hungary due to tax reasons, and some scenes were shot in Tuscany. As a  homage to past epic films, Corbet has shot the film in VistaVision, which means the movie was  filmed horizontally and with 35 mm film stock and scanned. Indeed, the final product looks and  feels like something that was shot in the 1950s. Composer Daniel Blumberg’s score has both  classical and experimental influences within the movie. The music featured within the narrative  ranges from period classical to ambient sounds (like train noises and industrial grinding) to  European New-Wave pop music. While the film is over three and a half hours long, it does not  drag or feel bloated at all, and the fifteen minute intermission at the halfway point feels familiar to those featured in past historical epic films.

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Perhaps one of the most oddest controversies in film has emerged around The Brutalist, and it has to do with the movie’s use of artificial intelligence with regards to the acting performances. 

Corbet chose to use a Ukrainian AI system called Respeecher to enhance the speaking  delivery of Brody and Jones’ lines. Editor David Jancso used the software to perfect the actors’  pronunciation of Hungarian words during the film’s post-production process. It should be noted, however, that the technology does not replace the actors’ speaking voices with  computerized lines. Brody and Jones speak with Hungarian accents as part of their roles, but  Jancso (who is Hungarian) notes that the use of AI was done to ensure authenticity. Funnily  enough, Brody himself is American-born but has Hungarian roots. Yet the performances are  still intact, and nothing feels false or ersatz when one is observing the film. 

Overall, The Brutalist is one of the 2024's top movies. Corbet has firmly-established himself as a  skilled director and a force to be reckoned with. Brody, Pearce, and Jones are brilliant in their  respective roles. What is awe-inspiring and impressive is the vastness of the movie while being  made on a relatively lean budget. Four out of four stars.