The Brutalist

We saw the movie “The Brutalist” at the cinema last night. I almost emptied my head into the keyboard when we got home, and I’m glad I didn’t - there was just so much to process about it - the majority of which I can’t really communicate.

Where to start? I think it’s a wonderful movie - and may be regarded by many as an “important” movie in many ways - one that will stand the test of time. It’s story is not easy to tell, or easy to watch - challenging, raw, difficult, and uncomfortable by equal measures - and yet strangely magnetic.

For the better part of four hours we were transported into the immigrant experience of post-war America, and both the world of privilege, and it’s dark underbelly.

I don’t want to give too much away, because the movie takes you on such a journey that it’s almost better to know as little as possible about it before embarking on the journey yourself.

I can see the movie dividing people too - triggering entirely predictable reactions among the entirely predictable “usual suspects” that I’m not going to explore here.

I think perhaps the element of the movie that will live on in my thoughts for quite some time will be the unflinching exploration of people - no matter their background or situation. In towering performances throughout the cast, we experience joy, hunger, heartbreak, fear, loss, anger, loneliness, manipulation, abuse… Everybody is unapologetically broken in their own way.

It’s not an easy film to watch - and yet difficult to look away from.