The Brutalist – An Architectural Spectacular
Written by Dr. Zoe Crombie
Cinema and architecture, in some scholarly views, go hand in hand. You can trace their connection back to the ‘City Symphony’ silents of the 1920s, which depict newly blooming skyscrapers as only a moving camera can, and while most of us haven’t visited every major world city, we can understand their skylines through the language of film. The controversially but undeniably striking (just visit Preston Bus Station) style of Brutalism seems especially well suited for the silver screen, as embraced by director Brady Corbet in his 215-minute-long (intermission inclusive) passion project The Brutalist.
Starring Adrien Brody as László, a Bauhaus trained architect and Holocaust survivor, the film follows the pursuit of the post-war American Dream from the point of view of a man with nothing left to lose, materially or emotionally. Shot using VistaVision, a widescreen filming process not commonly seen since the 1960s, The Brutalist is all about impact, from its hard-hitting historical basis to the spectacle of the buildings at its centre and how Corbet and cinematographer Lol Crawley have chosen to frame them.
A film as visually arresting as its namesake architectural style, The Brutalist sets out to be a cinematic event and more than achieves this goal. It’s easy to see where its 10 Oscar nominations came from, and it’s hard to see how it could go home empty handed.
Catch The Brutalist 14th - 20th February
