A sultry scene shifts in ‘The Brutalist’

The architectural wonder of writer-director Brady Corbet’s 215-minute postwar immigrant epic “The Brutalist” astonishes onscreen. The ambitious spectacle, which follows László Toth (Adrien Brody) chasing his American Dream, only to be upended by a tycoon (Guy Pearce), was captured on VistaVision for its visceral widescreen imagery. The striking photography from cinematographer Lol Crawley suggests themes of modernity versus classicism — the waters of the Statue of Liberty, the majestic quarries of Carrara, Italy — but a sensual magnetism seeps into the visual style as well. Its full extent is on display during an underground party where László drinks and dances with a woman (Dóra Sztarenki). Filming in Budapest, Crawley minimally lighted the moody moment, which reverberates with a sultry version of “You Are My Destiny.” The camera drifts, hinting to an ominous figure looking from above. “What’s wonderful about that scene is that we start on the woman’s legs as she walks in, and then she has this flirtatious dance with Laszlo,” Crawley says. “It’s all handheld, shot in an almost documentary way to give the actors freedom in the space. So it’s this real gentle balance, which in many ways was wonderful and liberating.” It’s a gentle moment that soon turns brutal.