By Anne Brodie
Do you have a short attention span? Then take a miss on The Brutalist. If you can sit for 3.5 hours and watch an engrossing, challenging, beautifully made biopic that embraces intellect, design, sexuality, and complexity, this is for you. Adrien Brody as cutting-edge Hungarian architect László Toth is a triumph, a performance that grabbed him a Best Leading Actor Oscar nomination this week, as the favourite. His face is capable of expressions that break our hearts and give us joy. After Tóth is separated from his wife Erzsébet (Felicity Jones) and released from a concentration camp, he arrives in America, the land of opportunity, hoping to establish himself and bring Erzsébet over. He lives a low life, without money, and becomes a heroin addict in the slums of New York. But a life-changing opportunity arrives – he’s sought out by a wealthy mentor Atilla Van Buren (Alessandro Nivola) who wants his Doylestown, Pennsylvania home rebuilt not to look like something out of Good Housekeeping but as Toth’s work based on his reputation and images of the “brutalist” structures in Europe. Brutalism is blocky, unpretty, soaring, defiant and all new, and ushers in a new age of design and thought. Atilla’s father (Guy Pearce) decides to build a revolutionary community/arts/events/religious center atop of hillock on his rural property, and László creates a unique ceiling cross to draw the sun, another triumph. But things sour with the Van Burens, as Erzsébet arrives. The Tóth’s relationship is complex. Fellow intellectuals and idealists, they are sobered by the war; and are about find out if America lives up to its promise. I never cared for brutalist architecture but have new eyes now, appreciating its roots, utility and potential for greatness. Even the title and credits rolls are wonderful to watch. And the score!!! Seemingly a mechanical cacophony, it melts into luxurious little symphonies, what pleasure. Interesting fact – proportions of some of his work matches the confines of his camp imprisonment. Theatres now. Nominated for 10 Oscars, including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Actress, and Best Original Screenplay
Mike Leigh and frequent collaborator Marianne Jean-Baptiste join forces for another powerful gut punch in the searing domestic drama Hard Truths. Jean-Baptiste is Pansy, a deeply embittered wife and mother angry at the world and filled with self doubt, lashing out at family, and just about anyone else who comes into her sphere. We follow her path of destruction and see that people are tuning her out, which further enrages her. Sister Chantal (Michele Austin) remains sympathetic for now. One bad morning, Pansy wakes up screaming, turns on her son, then a friend, and creates volatile situations at the grocery store and in the parking lot. It finally dawns on her that she has a problem, but she does nothing to address it and carries on the way she’s trained herself, to look for the negative. She’s even infuriated by dogs wearing jackets. How can a woman like this survive? She’s lost connection with who she is, and despite having a family, a home, and a caring sister, Pansy is stuck. We see no redemption, no remorse. Leigh’s painful character study seems a peculiar offering, but it’s about Jean-Baptiste’s effective performance and Leigh’s risk-taking. Also stars Jo Martin, Michele Austin and David Webber. Theatres now. Eighty-one year old Leigh says Hard Truths will be his last film.
The four-episode HBO Original limited series C.B. Strike: The Ink Black Heart now on Max is the latest outing of the British detective series, a complicated outing that is somewhat weighed down by being at arm’s length from us, impersonal. It’s the sixth in the series based on J.K. Rowling’s best-selling crime novels written under the pseudonym Robert Galbraith. Set in London, Comoran Strike (Tom Burke) a former Investigation Branch officer and Robin Ellacot (Holliday Grainger) his talented, intuitive partner in crime solving take on cases police can’t or won’t investigate. Edie (Mirren Mack) a terrified woman behind the popular online character Ink Black Heart says she’s being harassed by Anomie, an unknown online entity that stalks, doxes and lies about her. Edie’s found dead, an apparent suicide, but they suspect Anomie did it. Robin lives Edie’s life to learn more, attending an art class she frequented, partnering with her brother, investigating her business and personal connections, uncovering family and business problems, and international connections. They’re committed to the case, but now also face great danger from an unknown person or entity. Pay close attention; there is a lot in play. Meanwhile, Corm and Robin have worked together a while and the suggestion of romance continues to thrust and parry, but is gently squelched. Will this be another Moonlighting? And shoutout to the great British character actor Ruth Sheen as the smart, honest assistant we all need.
Across the pond in America, another detective, the evergreen Sherlock Holmes universe finds a new iteration in Watson which incidentally is one of a few Holmes series converging this season. This, the most modern take yet, seriously toys with the original, focussed on Holmes’ companion and sounding board Dr. Watson, flung into the 21st century. He’s a hospital doctor unravelling perplexing cases. The series on Paramount+, Global TV and STACKTV, takes place in the here and now, six months after Holmes’ death and Dr. John Watson (Morris Chestnut) is head of a unique clinic discovering and treating rare diseases. He seems far smarter than Arthur Conan Doyle’s original bumbling sidekick Watson and less lazy 😊This Watson is a bit of a polymath, wit, with a keen intellect and training, who benefitted from watching Holmes in action. The series opens at the storied Reichenbach Falls where Holmes allegedly died in a fall, according to the book. Moriarity, his evil nemesis also died. Watson also went over, but survived. Holmes left Watson a clinic to encourage him to pursue his medical interests and money to hire a tough security guard to protect his old friend. Watson investigates fatal familial insomnia, a terrifying real disease in which a single gene causes lifelong sleeplessness, an extremely dangerous condition that can lead to psychosis and premature death. Strange to follow the Holmes’ sidekick in an American medical clinic in the present day – a risky proposition for purists. Also stars Eve Harlow, Peter Mark Kendall, Ritchie Coster, Inga Schlingmann and Rochelle Aytes. Jan 26.