46/16
When a visionary architect and his wife flee post-war Europe in 1947 to rebuild their legacy and witness the birth of the modern United States, their lives are forever changed by a mysterious, wealthy client. Film reel counting down from the fifteenth minute.. Harrison Lee Van Buren Sr.: Dogs always bite their hands when they get sick. They were fed until someone compassionately put them down.. The 7PM Project features: Episode dated December 10, 2024 (2024). A Hungarian-Jewish architect barely manages to escape from post-WWII Europe to America in the hope of building a new life for his family. In his new country, his struggling career has its ups and downs before he finds himself under the wing of a vigilant, prosperous industrialist in Pennsylvania, who appreciates his work and uses him to fulfill part of his own vision. Adrien Brody gives one of his best performances as Laszlo Toth, a hard-working and determined immigrant hoping to start a new chapter and rebuild his legacy, both literally and figuratively. But it’s Guy Pearce who steals the film with a fierce and captivating performance as the blue-blooded tycoon who gives Toth a second chance at his work as an architect. He easily switches from sympathy to revenge. Brody’s protagonist is no paragon of virtue, to be sure. He struggles with drug addiction, sometimes disrespects the chain of command, teeters on the brink of madness, and even attacks some of his closest friends in moments of intense stress. Ultimately, he is sympathetic but complex. Director Brady Corbett provides a rich sense of historical context. The film’s only criticism is that it offers only a vague idea of what this pioneering architect did over the long term. Its focus is too much on his first and most ambitious project for this mercurial employer and all the troubles that came with it. Still, it’s one of the best epics in recent memory and is enthusiastically recommended for its excellent work all around. Brutal writer/director Brady Corbett shares 5 films for challenging times.