Dan Medeiros, The Herald News
Published December 25, 2024
One of 2024’s most praised movies, and a likely contender for the Oscars in 2025, wasn’t shot or even set in Fall River — but it has an interesting connection to our area that you may see everyday.
Brady Corbet’s “The Brutalist” is being called a modern masterpiece, the epic story of a Holocaust survivor and architect (Adrien Brody) who flees to the United States and struggles to achieve the American dream.
USA Today reviewer Brian Truitt called the 3.5-hour saga “brilliant” and “2024’s best movie,” with many other critics and audiences in agreement; it’s been nominated for seven Golden Globes, including Best Drama.
The SouthCoast has a few examples of Brutalist architecture, some very prominent. Let’s take a look:
What is Brutalism and Brutalist architecture?
It’s a style of architecture that first became prominent after World War II in Europe, usually categorized by unpainted concrete formed into rigid geometric shapes that emphasize simple function over beauty — the word “brutalist” comes from the French term béton brut, or raw concrete.
Despite how it looks, the massive, hulking buildings of Brutalism were actually meant to be inspiring, in a socialist utopia kind of way. It maybe also reflected the weariness people felt rebuilding cities blown to pieces by the most horrific war imaginable. The style was also meant to reflect honesty — instead of covering buildings with supposedly “unnecessary” decoration, Brutalism was straightforward and plain.
The movement gained prominence in the architecture world in the 1960s and into the 1970s, but fell out of favor — partially because it’s not conventionally “pretty,” and partially because Brutalist buildings were often uncomfortable and hard to maintain.
What is ‘The Brutalist’ about? Is it real?
It’s the story of László Tóth, a Hungarian Jewish architect who immigrates to America. Actor Guy Pearce plays Harrison Lee Van Buren, a rich industrialist who hires, then exploits Tóth. It is fiction, inspired by the lives of real people in the Brutalist movement.