I'm quite proud of myself for not having a snooze during The Brutalist whilst watching it on the huge IMAX screen.
I'm certainly not beschmirching the good character of a decent movie, but at almost four hours long, and beginning at 4pm, the risk of an unplanned nap was always present. I didn't need to worry. Although it's at least 30 minutes longer than necessary, it's a beautifully shot film, split into two parts by an intermission.
The second part contains a big twist involving Guy Pearce's character, and a lot of threads are brought together in the epilogue scene (set some years later in 1980).. The story of an award-winning Hungarian architect rebuilding his life in Pennsylvania after escaping the horrors of the Holocaust is inherently bleak at times, but Adrien Brody deserves all the awards undoubtedly heading his way (the film has ten Oscars nominations). The soaring musical score is a huge plus, and I liked the gimmick of it being shot in Vistavision, a format rarely used nowadays. The sweeping shots of Venice towards the end looked particularly beautiful as the film reached its culmination. With America currently in something of a mess, the fil also provides food for thought when it comes to prejudice directed towards perceived 'outsiders' simply looking for solace, peace, and the chance of a better life.
Having used up half the column on The Brutalist, I'll have to be brief, so here goes with my other cinema choices this week...
Presence is a clever idea, shot from the perspective of a ghost haunting a new family who move into the plush house where it floats about. If it's meant to be a horror, I wasn't scared at all, sadly. Original but a bit dull and forgettable.
Companion reminded me of a Scarlett Johansson film, Her, that I enjoyed about a decade ago. The dark humour, pulpy gore, and sassy 'robot companion' storyline are hugely enjoyable. I liked the nod to Terminator 2 in a later scene, and once again it proves AI will probably bump us all off in the end, especially sad blokes like Josh (Jack Quaid) who keeps the intelligence of Iris (Sophie Thatcher) turned down to 40%...until she finds the remote control.
Hard Truths, the latest from Mike Leigh, is a great study of loneliness, grief, and bickering families. Plenty of humour, especially the supermarket queue scene and line about babies not needing pockets. Marianne Jean-Baptiste and Michele Austin are both at the top of their acting game. In fact, it didn't feel like they were acting at all.
Just time to recommend September 5, which I'll write more about next week, as I'm seeing it again this weekend. Based on an event watched by 900 million people in 1972, covered live by ABC's Sport team in devastating detail. If you watch one film this week, make it this one. Or if you have kids, I guess it might be Dog Man, which is out this Friday. Happy movie watching!
