As a passionate admirer of Judy Becker’s work, I can confidently say that her journey as a production designer has been nothing short of inspiring. From recreating the bustling streets of New York in “American Hustle” to transforming Cincinnati into 1950s Philadelphia for “Carol”, she has consistently demonstrated an uncanny ability to breathe life into unassuming locations.
Judy Becker’s body of work as a production designer in movies such as “American Hustle” and “Carol” equipped her with the skills necessary to tackle the distinctive task of filming a period drama.
Carol often found herself searching for the correct location in an unexpected city, as she stood in for New York in Cincinnati while filming, and portrayed New York in Boston for ‘American Hustle.’ As a result, it’s not unusual for her to be accustomed to looking for the right setting in unanticipated places.
Filming “The Brutalist,” directed by Brady Corbet, abroad (specifically substituting Hungary for Philadelphia during the 1940s) presented an entirely new set of difficulties.
The movie tells the story of architect Lászlo, portrayed by Adrien Brody, who manages to flee the Holocaust and relocate to America. Once his skill is recognized by a wealthy patron, played by Guy Pearce, László receives a task to construct a community center encompassing a library, theater, and chapel. As remuneration for his work, László’s wife, Erzsébet Tóth (played by Felicity Jones), is granted the opportunity to immigrate and reunite with her husband.
Throughout the movie, the majority of scenes were filmed on real locations, yet Becker created a functional center that László constructs and invests his aspirations into during the film. She envisioned this structure to have imposing concrete molds while maintaining a minimalist design, drawing inspiration from brutalist architecture style.
As a movie enthusiast, I too grasped that the objective was to combine symbolically two concentration camps within the narrative. This was crucial because the movie itself doesn’t depict László in the Holocaust; instead, it portrays his emotional turmoil and trauma through the very structure of the building itself.
However, when I began, I wasn’t sure how I would manage it, as I lacked the initial spark of inspiration,” Becker admits.
Upon revisiting the designs of multiple World War II concentration camps, she observed that the living quarters (barracks) were situated on both sides of the main road. What particularly caught her attention was a cross-shaped layout common to all these structures, which significantly stood out in an otherwise vacant church in the movie and served as its central focus.
Becker points out: “It might have been a coincidence, but it made me ponder the significance of all those symbols. Notably, there’s the cross-shaped light beaming from the tower within the structure. After figuring that out, it became clearer and less challenging.
The team spent around 12 weeks prepping in Hungary and scouting for locations that could pass for the United States. Becker explains that “it helped that the film was set in an earlier period because there were places in Hungary that looked sort of lost in the past. For example, the industrial area in Budapest looked very similar to the industrial area of Philadelphia in the 1950s.”
Beyond the hurdles of adapting to a foreign work environment, Becker and her colleagues found themselves operating with meager resources.
Becker acknowledges that despite appearances, the film he worked on had one of the smallest budgets among period movies he’s ever been part of. He admits it was tough to determine where to allocate funds, but he found it to be a stimulating challenge. It required finding creative and cost-effective ways to present scenes, which in turn fostered creativity and intelligence.
Previously, it’s been mentioned that the production cost of “The Brutalist” amounted to $10 million, a figure that left many viewers taken aback. However, this substantial budget didn’t limit Becker’s creative freedom in any way.
Becker expresses: “On larger-budget films, I found the financial aspect challenging. You’re not compensated well when asked to work out of passion, which was the case here. However, this project was truly a labor of love for everyone involved.
Becker found her partnership with Brady Corbet liberating, offering plenty of room for creativity when it came to the art design. When they first discussed the grand scope of their project, she was reminded of a smaller-scale encounter her husband had during the Sundance Directors Lab.
Over the years, Becker has fondly remembered a unique interpretation of a script that everyone received: one director chose to stage it on an airplane. To achieve this, they placed paper plates atop bus seats in lieu of tray tables and covered the windows with materials resembling window shades. This story serves as a powerful reminder for Becker of how creativity and resourcefulness can dramatically alter a setting.
Becker humorously explains, ‘I didn’t mean we literally planned to transform paper plates and paper into a makeshift airplane, but it was illustrative of the imaginative possibilities when one truly focuses their thoughts.’ Essentially, he believes that ‘The Brutalist,’ his film about converting a bus into an airplane, encapsulates this concept.
“The Brutalist” is now playing in theaters.
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2024-12-21 21:46