The Brutalist (2024) ****

The Brutalist boldly attempts to be a modern American epic. It's about many things, architecture, Jewish identity in post-war America, power and wealth, war trauma, and the most importantly the power of art. Directed by Brady Corbett, whose Vox Lux from 2018 I admired, it has narrative breadth of Coppola and the daring character insight of Paul Thomas Anderson films. The tension between art and politics is always simmering beneath the film's surface, vibrating through the narrative. 

Adrien Brody stars as Laszlo Toth, a Jewish architect emigrating to America from Hungary, a survivor of the Dachau concentration camp. He settles in Pennsylvania with a cousin who owns a furniture store, while his wife and niece have yet to escape Europe. We learn Laszlo was a brilliant architect who designed buildings in Budapest which survived the war. His work comes to the attention of wealthy industrialist Harrison Lee Van Buren (Guy Pearce) and is later commissioned to design an elaborate community center.

Yet the above plot synopsis is superficial and tells little about the film. Laszlo struggles with many things, poverty, his ego, and drug addiction. Life in America is harsh; he deals with many insults and humiliations. He struggles to articulate his artistic visions, resulting in several clashes with his patrons. Van Buren appears to genuinely admire the genius of Laszlo, yet at the same time treats him like a court jester who amuses him. Meanwhile Harrison's spoiled son Harry is another nefarious presence.

The backbone of the story surrounds the struggle to create the community center. Laszlo imagines a modernist structure that will foster community. Inevitably, conflicts develop from all sides. Financial concerns and Harrison's suspect business practices raise red flags, while the return of Lasalo's wife Erzsebet (Felicity Jones) and niece Zsofia (Raffey Cassidy) further complicate things, as they are also recovering from the horrors they experienced in Europe. Frustrations drive Laszlo both further away and paradoxically ever closer to finishing the project. 

Jewish identity in post-war America is another major theme. When Laszlo arrives in America the Statue of Liberty is framed upside down, a possible allusion to The Godfather Part II. His cousin Attila has fully assimilated into American life and married to a Catholic woman. Their culture clash leads to a breach in their relationship. Events in Israel are frequently referenced, and his niece wants the family to emigrate. Their dealings with the Harrison family inflame tensions further, and lead to questions on whether Jews are truly welcome in post-war America. 

The Brutalist tells a complex tale in its journey through midcentury America, one full of allusions and doubts, but neither is heroism absent. Brody's performance is both committed and impressive, as are the rest of the cast. The film's rigid anti-nostalgic stance is refreshing, even haunting at times. The score by Daniel Blumberg is both foreboding and majestic. With its overarching themes, many have criticized the film for not living up to the ambition of its ideas, possibly, but there's so much to admire - it's a film that demands reflection. 

****

Wolf Man (2025)

Wolf Man tells a modern werewolf story by focusing on trauma and family dynamics. Not a failure by any means, it's never boring, but never fully delivers either. 

The prologue recalls a childhood memory with protagonist Blake (Christopher Abbott) being taught to hunt by his stentorian father. Now in the present, Blake is a husband and father to Charlotte (Julia Garner) and Ginger (Matilda Firth), while navigating being "in between jobs." Feeling that their marriage is failing, the family decides to return to Blake's childhood home in Oregon after the death of his estranged father. Once they arrive, things quickly take a horrific turn.

The first section does a great job of establishing characters and potential conflicts but then takes an erratic leap. Neither a gorefest nor a study in terror, Wolf Man is at its best on the psychological level, making the story more tragic than frightening. The horror of transformation also becomes a part of the story, something unique to mainstream werewolf movies

As Leigh Whannel's follow up to his well-received Invisible Man from 2020, Wolf Man feels a bit slight in comparison, but it still manages some fresh takes on an old genre. The music score by Benjamin Wallfisch is effective, while the sound design was creative and unnerving. 

***

A Complete Unknown (2024, James Mangold)

 

A Complete Unknown chronicles Bob Dylan's life from 1961 to 1965, the years that witnessed his meteoric rise to becoming one of the most influential songwriters of all time. Starring a dedicated Timothee Chalamet who disappears into the role of young Dylan. James Mangold's direction stays within the confines of conventional music biopics, the approach mirrors his 2005 Johnny Cash film Walk the Line: extended set pieces of live music, relationship drama, and historical verisimilitude. Dylan fans will single out some inaccuracies and creative choices, while many may find the format moribund, the film makes use of rich material and hits the right dramatic beats. 

The film begins with Dylan arriving in Greenwich Village, the heart of the early '60s folk movement that was galvanizing young people. Bob goes to visit his hero Woody Guthrie (Scott McNairy) who by 1961 was confined to a Sanatorium. Dylan also meets folk singer Peter Seeger (Edward Norton), elder statesman of the folk movement who helps Dylan and tries to be a mentor. 

Dylan quickly gets a contract with Columbia Records, and while his debut LP flopped, the second album The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan instantly made him famous with iconic songs like "Blowin' in the Wind" and "Don't Think Twice, It's All Right." He begins a tempestuous relationship with Joan Baez (Monica Barbaro) who was already established as a folk singer, and is on and off with artist and activist "Sylvie" played by Elle Fanning (based on Suze Rotolo). As Dylan's fame and influence begin to dwarf everyone around him, he sees no other choice but to go his own way, culminating with his legendary "going electric" appearance at the 1965 Newport Folk Festival.   

Setting up Pete Seeger as Dylan's antagonist brings the best dramatic tension. Norton plays Seeger as a purist dedicated to social justice and tries to wean Dylan away from rock music. In a stirring moment, Dylan performs "The Times They-Are-a-Changin" before an audience for the first time, moving them to tears as Seeger beams with pride. The song captures the Kennedy era of hope, best expressed by the March on Washington where Dylan and Baez performed. In time, Dylan became alienated with the folk scene and its insistence on artistic purity. 

The script settles on depicting Dylan as a cipher, always charming and baffling those around him. There's no attempt at a Citizen Kane type investigation of what drove him. He's emotionally distant from Joan and Sylvie, views Seeger with an admiration that turns into contempt, and scoffs at his adoring fans. He finds a kinship with Johnny Cash (Boyd Holbrook), they meet each other on the same level. Even at the height of his artistic triumphs, Dylan himself remains ambivalent about the nature of fame and art. 

Many may find it a folly to portray Dylan's life during the 1960s, especially by taking the traditional approach. Countless books have been written on the era, No Direction Home: The Life and Music of Bob Dylan by Robert Shelton is the best on the early years or Positively Fourth Street: The Lives and Times of Joan Baez, Bob Dylan, Mimi Baez Farina, and Richard Farina by David Hajdu is also revealing, while Dylan Goes Electric by Elijah Wald provided source material for the film. Martin Scorsese's documentary No Direction Home is an essential watch and excellent companion to A Complete Unknown. 

In terms of films about Dylan, the most creative and ambitious attempt to understand Dylan was the Todd Haynes film from 2007 I'm Not There, in which six actors were cast to play Dylan, each symbolizing his different incarnations. Haynes even inserted scenes from a fake Hollywood biopic entitled Grain of Sand, in which a fictional Dylan played by Heath Ledger laments being the "voice of his generation." The 2014 Coen Brothers film Inside Llewyn Davis provides a jaundiced view of the folk scene with its abrasive protagonist played by Oscar Isaac.

A Complete Unknown will serve as a great introduction to anyone interested in Dylan and his music, and the film is at its best when focused on the music. Chalamet's steady performance carries the film and channeling Dylan's prickly and ever changing persona.

***1/2

Target (1985)

 

A slightly obscure family drama/Cold War espionage adventure from 1985, Target teamed up Gene Hackman and Matt Dillon as father and son. Filled with twists and turns (although the film offers diminishing returns in the plotting department) it does stand out for its unique approach to familiar material.

We first meet "Walter" played by Hackman, an apparent everyman living in Dallas who manages a lumber yard. His wayward son "Chris" is a college dropout with hopes of becoming a professional car racer. Walter's wife Donna (Gayle Hunnicut) is about to embark on a European trip with a scene suggesting their marriage might be on the rocks. 

Walter and Chris decide to spend time together fishing to mend their frayed relationship until they receive a call from the American consulate in Paris - Donna has gone missing. They catch a flight to Paris and the intrigues ensues. Here the film delivers a twist when its revealed Walter's skills go beyond managing a lumber yard, he speaks French and German and knows his way around Europe. Target is not the fish out of water story the film was leading us to believe. Much to his son's surprise "Walter: was an intelligence operative in his younger days - and that his wife's kidnapping is related to an operation that went wrong. 

From that point on the film follows Walter and Chris through France into Germany, culminating with a climax as, right, you guessed it, in East Berlin. Father and son come to trust each other and discover a a new respect, in the midst of a number of double crossings and harrowing escapes. Government officials are untrustworthy and old intelligence operatives continue to scheme. The politics of the movie land on the side of cynical, even isolationist. America is the safe space, Europeans are dangerous. 

Methodical pacing and erstwhile performances from the two leads keep things moving along. While Target never achieves the heights of Arthur Penn's previous collaboration with Hackman, Night Moves, it does serve as a respectable programmer for those who enjoy 1980s espionage thrillers.

Salvador (1986, Oliver Stone)

Any conscientious person who takes a close look at the record of American foreign policy in Central American will rightfully be filled with indignation. Administrations have treated the region as one for economic exploitation, military interventions, and boosting authoritarian governments. Despite its messiness, Oliver Stone's Salvador takes a critical look at American engagement in the region from a 1980s perspective.

During the 1980s, Central America was frequently in the headlines with the Reagan administration meddling in the region, resulting in the Iran-Contra scandal that almost derailed his presidency. Providing military and economic support to reactionary paramilitaries to prevent a wave of leftist regimes in the region, specifically in Nicaragua and El Salvador, became a central tenet of Reagan's foreign policy.

Oliver Stone's Salvador is a semi-factually based account of the Civil War in El Salvador between the FMLN and the military dictatorship. James Woods stars as globetrotting photojournalist Richard Boyle, whose work in Vietnam was documented in his book Flower of the Dragon. The film begins with Boyle's marriage crumbling due to his philandering and drug addiction. Desperate to rebuild his reputation as a journalist he heads to El Salvador with his alcoholic buddy "Doctor Rock" played by Jim Belushi.

Upon arrival, they find the country in chaos with harsh crackdowns and retributions waged by the government against the rebels. Boyle learns the United States plans to bolster the dictatorship when the incoming Reagan administration comes into power to prevent a communist domino effect in Central America, supported by Castro and the USSR. The assassination of Archbishop Oscar Romero, a leading revolutionary voice against the government, further destabilizes the country and leads to an uprising.

Stone's documentary approach and Wood's intense performance provide a rawness. John Savage is electric as a photojournalist based on John Hoagland who was killed in El Salvador, in particular a scene when he and Boyle investigate a mass gravesite, saying "our job is to give nobility to human suffering." Meanwhile, the dramatic focus of the story has Richard trying to get his girlfriend Maria and kids out of the country. 

Unlike many Hollywood productions of this genre, Salvador takes an immersive approach. There's an on-the-ground feeling lacking in many Hollywood productions of its time. Stone took inspiration from political thrillers of the 1960s like Z and Battle for Algiers, adding a leftist American scruffiness to it. Woods and Belushi both play their characters as moral reprobates with little interest in the politics of the El Salvador until it affects them personally. The Reagan officials are grotesque yuppies, while the outgoing ambassador played by Michael Murphy symbolizes the Carter era's exhausted liberalism.

Salvador may strike some as crude and juvenile, but I would argue it remains a potent political statement of its era.  The abandonment of human rights in favor of power politics by the Reagan administration brought disruption to the region and we live with the consequences. 

Megalopolis ****

Not what I expected in a good way. Based on several of the reviews I read Megalopolis was "chaotic" and "incoherent." Not my experience whatsoever. 

After decades of false starts and delays, Coppola finally completed his Roman epic set in modern New York City. It's a return to form I would stand alongside his best work. There's a stately refinement running though the film that attempts to tackle big questions like: What is the role of the artist? What is money? What is power? What is the future? What are possibilities? What are the obstacles? What does it mean to be human?

These questions may induce eye rolling, if they do, Megalopolis will probably annoy you. If you're open to them, the movie will be a breath of fresh air compared to what's considered cinema in the 21st Century.

It's not perfect, far from it. Adam Driver a little uneven as the lead, but always watchable. His performance is somewhere between Jeff Goldblum and Cary Grant. Certain plot elements get underserved. The political side of the film also needed more insight.

The supporting characters are more symbols than individuals. The aesthetics are both Shakespearean and 1950s Hollywood. It's a about a society that's become self-indulgent and lost sight of the future.

Coppola excels at telling stories on a grand canvas and here we get one of his most hopeful films. It was more conventional than I expected, but had enough cinematic flourish to make it unique. The vibe of the film feels of a different time, even an alternate timeline, and I will definitely revisit.

Sneakers

Sneakers was a moderate success upon its release in 1992 and has since become a cult favorite, championed by late Gen X and early Millennials, the last generations to come of age in a time before the internet. The film works as a premonition of things to come, a world where information is weaponized and faith in institutions and centers of power are shifting.  

Despite the heady themes I just mentioned, Sneakers is a great hangout movie. Few genres are more entertaining than the techno-thriller and heist flick. Our cast of characters are a group of happy warriors who function harmoniously as a team despite their differences. Robert Redford (Martin) heads a security consultant company with former CIA operative Donald Crease played by Sidney Poitier. In addition are Dan Aykroyd as tech specialist and conspiracy theorist "Mother," River Phoenix as hacker Carl Arbogast, and David Strathairn as phone freak "Whistler." Mary McDonnell rounds out the cast as Liz, Redford's former girlfriend, who remains an ally to the group.

The plot of Sneakers revolves around a "Black Box" with incredible encryption potential, the power to infiltrate governments, corporations, and banks. In the film's prologue, we see Martin as a college student with his friend Cosmo (Ben Kingsley), who were both hackers. As the authorities were coming to arrest them for illegal activity, Martin managed to escape to Canada, but Cosmo was arrested. We later learn Cosmo got an early release and sold his hacking services to criminal organizations. He wants to use the Black Box built by the NSA to destroy the world's financial system, making rich and poor equal. Out of the chaos will arise a new order.

Martin and Cosmo symbolized two sides of the New Left. Martin managed to redefine himself as a security expert, working within the system while never abandoning his anti-establishment ethos. Cosmo took the opposite track; he became further radicalized and concluded chaos was the only answer to an unjust system. Although Cosmo is the antagonist his words have proved prophetic:

There's a war out there, old friend. A world war. And it's not about who's got the most bullets. It's about who controls the information. What we see and hear, how we work, what we think . . . it's all about the information!

Sneakers handles the minutiae of heist films with gentle humor. There are agents who appear to be NSA but are covertly working for another government. To get past a voice-based security system Liz is sent under protest on a date with a hopeless milquetoast played by Stephen Tobolowsky. There's an absurd chase scene in a parking lot. And a pleasing denouement scene featuring a James Earl Jones cameo. 

Written by Lawrence Lasker and Walter Parks, the team behind the iconic '80s techno-thriller War Games, the script has the precision of a European thriller. James Horner's ethereal music matches the finesse of the production design. Phil Alden Robinson's direction deftly handles a complex plot with a cast of heavyweights.

Ultimately, there's more to Sneakers than merely being an above average heist film with some sharp insight into the post-Cold War world. It's also a redemptive fable for the boomer generation. I'm a little out of date here, referring to the backlash towards boomers on social media during the early 2020s (they elected Reagan and Trump, got drunk on credit and doomed future generations, while also destroying the planet with fossil fuels) gets a redemptive counternarrative in Sneakers.

There's a utopic undercurrent to the story, evident with the casting. Poitier was a part of so many important movies and a living legend, his reserved presence evokes a dignity rare in modern movies. Redford will always be remembered as a great movie star, his role here as the seasoned liberal who still lives by a more mature '60s ethos approaches aspirational. Aykroyd's presence will always recall early SNL, the closest American pop culture ever came to something approaching the Beatles (I have a theory many are obsessed with early SNL but I may be projecting). Finally, River Phoenix represented Gen X, the youngest member of the group who gets on fine with everyone. If the characters share one common trait, is they're all motivated by something beyond money. 

The ideological and generational harmony among the ensemble is why I think many go back to Sneakers. One need not disavow all their youthful ideals and cynically go for the big money. Ideals and making the world a better place still matter.