The Brutalist

I loathe modern architecture as much, if not more, than the daubs that pass for modern art, or the cacophony of pop music. However as a strong supporter of Israel, and one who regards the treatment of the Jewish people over the ages as despicable, I thought that, as the film was advertised as having a close connection with the history of the holocaust, I would give it the benefit of the doubt, despite the fact that it is over three hours long. Indeed the horror which the main character and his family were subjected to by the vile German Nazi regime was certainly an issue.

As it turns out I should have been warned by the manner in which the art establishment greeted it as marvellous, for it turned out to be the same sort of prentenious rubbish, with which we are so often inflicted these days. The story was long and often boring, and none of the main characters was particularly sympathetic, although the Jewish family had obviously been traumatised by their experiences in the concentration camps.

It was clearly necessary that the Hungarian dialogue was subtitled, but the actual soundtrack was anyway difficult to follow, as quite unnecessary background music was played, which made the heavily accented English sections often difficult. Felicity Jones is a good actress, but, in her somewhat excessive efforts to use a Jewish accent, she is actually incomprehensible at times.

To add to this, the film was shot in VistaVision, a format last used in Hollywood in the1960s, which is much inferior to modern film productions. The result is somewhat fuzzy, and unclear.

As far as the plot is concerned the behaviour of the industrialist supporting the architect is to say the least somewhat erratic, and the final denouement, in which he, the father of two children, suddenly commits a homosexual rape on the latter comes out of the blue. It seems to be a common belief in the arts world that vast numbers of men are either homosexual, or bisexual, while the reality is that it is at best, or worst, five percent. Perhaps it reflects the composition of the luvvie population.

As far as I am concerned it was a relief when the three hours thirty five minutes were over, and I would not recommend this film to anyone.