leohaverty

I read about the Rhys Jones Murder a few months back, and one day recently it popped into my head again so I dug deeper to find out more about this, I get interested in this sort of stuff. Then I came across Little Boy Blue, and I seen none other than the brilliant Stephen Graham on its poster.

I HAD TO WATCH THIS.

Watching it felt more like a documentary than it did a drama. You feel the pain of Rhys' Parents, feel the stress Dave Kelly feels as he tries to solve this level of complexity for the maximum Justice that little eleven-year-old boy deserved.

Then as we go forth with the heartless b**tards who all had a part to play in it, you feel the punch gut, that feeling you've been caught and from this moment on your life will never be the same again, it will be dreadful, it will be dark and it will be scary. This series makes you feel like you were with the criminals the whole time, you just feel that sense of dread, feel like YOU had something to with it, thats how personal and well made this god tier mini-series is, it makes you FEEL all the perspectives, and you can't just feel that by watching small clips of it, seriously, to those who are, watch the entire thing, its way more different than watching select clips.

I don't know, maybe it's just me. It makes me feel like I don't wanna leave my house, it makes me fear for my family for a bit, like they're going to be the one shot either today, tomorrow or the day after, etcetra.

I never can really feel sadness when I have to read the wikipedia page of this young lads murder, but after watching this series, I ended up with dribbling eyes, because you can see how it affected those close to Rhys.

Thats why drama is an incredible thing. If it can make you become attached to the characters, regardless if they were real or not, thats good filmmaking.

I urge anyone who loves True Crime to stick this on the TV, I guarantee you in one sitting, you'll learn SO much more than reading the wikipedia page.

10/10: Acting is astonishing.

If you're expect a traditional review that breaks down the plot, this ain't it chief.

Clocking in at three and a half hours, The Brutalist moves at a pace that makes Barry Lyndon look like a Fast and Furious movie. You can imagine even at home if you were in a cinema, people would start shifting in their seats, checking their watches, and getting impatient. Then the walkouts would begin, hell some probably wouldn't have made it to the intermission mark. That's how tedious this film is.

In a way, I get it. This movie is brutal in more ways than one. If you don't lock into its rhythm, you'll hate it. But if you do, it's hypnotic.

From the moment the VistaVision logo grows onto the screen, you know this isn't just another period piece. The use of that old-school format, razor-sharp, wide and pristine, immediately gives the gilm a sense of permanence, like something that belongs in a museum rather than a bunch of streaming services.

It's not like those traditional Hollywood films that holds your hand as you walk with it. It's like that father who teaches you tough love, daring you to keep up.

People throw the term "slow cinema" a lot, but The Brutalist is an exhausting one. It can be frustrating but that frustration is the point.

And then, when the moments of violence, pain and revelation DO hit, they hit harder than they would in a film that rushes from scene to scene. The stillness makes the impact feel seismic.

A film like this requires complete attention. No talking, no checking your phone, no sneaking out for a quick bathroom break (that's what the intermission is for). But today, audiences aren't used to that. We're conditioned to expect movement, constant engagement, immediate payoff.

A lot of people nowadays would rather sit through the latest Marvel slop, watching characters spout quips over green screens in a story that's the same as the last ten movies they made. The acting is over blown and nonexistant. The cinematography is as lifeless as Stan Lee himself. It's the same good vs evil, stripped of any complexity. And yet, people will defend that to the death while walking out of the masterful Brutalist before the halfway mark because it doesn't give them a dopamine hit every two minutes.

This isn't a film for everyone, yes. Hell, it's barely a film for anyone in the age of two-hour runtime caps. But for those willing to meet it on its terms, The Brutalist is one of the most rewarding and punishing cinematic experiences since Oppenheimer.