The ever-talentedFelicity Jonescontinues to proveher on-screen talentsfollowing a run of successful leading roles over the years, fromRogue One: A Star Wars StorytoThe Theory of Everything— the latter earning her an Academy Award nomination. Her latest awards contender, the A24 filmThe Brutalist, finds Jonesalongside Oscar-winner Adrien Brody. They play a Hungarian refugee couple seeking a fruitful life in post-World War II America. Jones plays a sharp-witted but disease-stricken writer named Erzsébet, whose skilled architect of a husband, László (Brody), arrives in America far before she does. They finally reconnect in the U.S. while he’s busy bringing to life an epic project thought up by a wealthy American industrialist named Harrison (Guy Pearce).
MovieWeb recently caught up with Jones in-person in Los Angeles to learn more about her groundbreaking new dramatic film (all 215 minutes of it) and the through line of the sprawling narrative: Erzsébet and László’s marital bond.
“This love is what has kept them both going through the various traumatic experiences that they’ve been through, and they’ve been waiting to be reunited with each other,” said Jones in reference to the first half of the movie, where Jones is virtually nowhere to be seen due to her delayed arrival in the States. “And so when they finally meet, you know, the expectations are so high.” She added:
“But actually, what was so interesting about the script is that there’s a period of them trying to work each other out. They’re having to go back to zero. They’re having to relearn who that person is. But I think so much of the film is about how to hang on to that love. You know, in many ways, it would be easier for them to go their separate ways, but actually, they just can’t. They are locked in with each other, and there is something profound between them. And they both have this deep, deep belief in the power of the artistic endeavor.”
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Jones delivers yet another powerful performance as Erzsébet and is rightfully part of awards-season chatter as nominations are gradually revealed. Watch out for a number of heated and emotionally charged scenes, particularly between Erzsébet and the morally ambiguous Harrison, as the film’s third act hits you like a brick. Jones spoke to us about how writer-director Brady Corbet artfully and cleverly structures these scenes to heighten the drama:
“In some ways, the film… kind of rips you out of that moment after [Erzsébet and Harrison have] had their confrontation, and then you’re suddenly flung 20 years in the future. It’s almost like,Brady’s not gonna let you indulge in any sentimentality around that moment. It’s kind of, you know, that’s all you get. And then you have to go and take it home and think about it. And I thinkthat’s what I like about it is, it doesn’t add things up too easily for you. It makes you process it.”
Processing begins tomorrow. From A24,The Brutalistwill be released in select theaters on Friday, Dec. 20.
The Brutalist
Escaping post-war Europe, visionary architect László Toth arrives in America to rebuild his life, his work, and his marriage to his wife Erzsébet after being forced apart during wartime by shifting borders and regimes. On his own in a strange new country, László settles in Pennsylvania, where the wealthy and prominent industrialist Harrison Lee Van Buren recognizes his talent for building. But power and legacy come at a heavy cost…
