45/45
When a visionary architect and his wife flee post-war Europe in 1947 to reclaim their inheritance and witness the birth of the modern United States, their lives are changed forever by a mysterious, wealthy client. This film has a built-in 70mm time lapse that counts down from the fifteen-minute mark. Harrison Lee Van Buren Sr.: When dogs get sick, they often bite the hand of the one who fed them until someone mercifully lets them go. Appeared in The 7PM Project: Episode, December 10, 2024 (2024). A Hungarian-Jewish architect barely escapes to America from Europe after World War II in hopes of building a new life for his family. In his new country, his difficult career takes some bumps and detours before he is taken under the wing of an alert, wealthy Pennsylvania industrialist who admires his work and eventually hires him to realize part of his own vision. Adrien Brody gives one of his best performances to date as Laszlo Toth, a hard-working, determined immigrant who hopes to turn over a new leaf and reclaim his legacy, literally and figuratively. But it’s Guy Pearce who nearly steals the film with his fierce, charismatic performance as the blue-blooded tycoon who gives Toth a second chance as an architect. He moves effortlessly from sympathy to revenge. Brody’s character is no paragon of virtue, of course. He struggles with drug addiction, sometimes disregards the chain of command, teeters on the edge of madness, and even turns on some of his closest friends in moments of extreme stress. Ultimately, he’s likeable but complicated. Director Brady Corbett provides a rich sense of historical context. The film’s only criticism is that it gives only a taste of what this pioneering architect would accomplish in the long run. The focus is largely on his first and most ambitious project for this living employer and all the problems that came with it. Still, it’s one of the best epics in recent memory and comes highly recommended for its gorgeous work throughout. From Alien: Romulus to Road House, take a look back at some of our favorite posters from 2024.