The Brutalist

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Movie Details

Also known as El Brutalista
Country Hungary, United Kingdom, United States
Language English, Hungarian
GenresPeriod drama
Release dateSeptember 1, 2024 (Venice)
December 20, 2024 (United States)
January 24, 2025 (United Kingdom)
Running time3hr 34min
Age ratingR
StarringAdrien Brody, Felicity Jones, Guy Pearce, Joe Alwyn, Raffey Cassidy, Stacy Martin, Emma Laird, Isaach de Bankolé, Alessandro Nivola
Directed by Brady Corbet
Written byBrady Corbet, Mona Fastvold
Produced byTrevor Matthews, Nick Gordon, Brian Young, Andrew Morrison, Andrew Lauren, D.J. Gugenheim, Brady Corbet
Cinematography by Lol Crawley
Edited by Dávid Jancsó
Music byDaniel Blumberg
Casting byKristina Erdely, Cassandra Kulukundis
Production Design byJudy Becker
Art Direction byCsenge Jóvári, Alexander Linde, Csaba Lodi, Virág Tyekvicska
Set Decoration byPatricia Cuccia, Mercédesz Nagyváradi
Costume Design byKate Forbes
Production CompanyBrookstreet Pictures
Kaplan Morrison
Distributor A24 (United States)
Universal Pictures
Focus Features (International)

Cast & Characters

  • Adrien Brody as László Tóth, a Hungarian-Jewish architect and Holocaust survivor of the Dachau concentration camp who immigrates to America
  • Felicity Jones as Erzsébet Tóth, László’s wife
  • Guy Pearce as Harrison Lee Van Buren, a wealthy, handsome, snobbish industrialist, who becomes László’s most important client
  • Joe Alwyn as Harry Lee Van Buren, Harrison’s entitled and pompous son
  • Raffey Cassidy as Zsófia, László’s orphaned teenage niece
    • Cassidy also briefly portrays Zsófia’s young adult daughter
    • Ariane Labed as adult Zsófia
  • Stacy Martin as Maggie Van Buren, Harry’s kinder twin sister
  • Alessandro Nivola as Attila, a furniture store owner in Philadelphia and László’s cousin
  • Emma Laird as Audrey, Attila’s Catholic wife
  • Isaach de Bankolé as Gordon, László’s friend, a single father
  • Michael Epp as Jim Simpson, a mundane architect
  • Jonathan Hyde as Leslie Woodrow, a builder hired by Harrison to realize László’s design
  • Peter Polycarpou as Michael Hoffman, Harrison’s attorney
  • Maria Sand as Michelle Hoffman, Michael’s wife
  • Salvatore Sansone as Orazio, László’s friend in Carrara

Storyline

When visionary architect László Toth and his wife Erzsébet flee Europe to rebuild their legacy and witness the birth of modern America, their lives are changed forever by a mysterious and wealthy client. The seemingly charming industrialist Harrison Van Buren offers László and his family the American Dream on a silver platter by commissioning him to design a grand modernist monument and help shape the landscape of the country he now calls home. It will be the most ambitious project of his career, one that will take László and Erzsébet to both monumental heights and devastating lows.

About The Brutalist Movie

In September 2018, Deadline reported that director Brady Corbet had selected The Brutalist as his next project following the premiere of his second feature film, Vox Lux. The screenplay was developed by New York-based Andrew Lauren Productions (ALP), with Corbet also financing the film. Corbet co-wrote the screenplay with his partner Mona Fastvold, who had previously collaborated with him on The Childhood of a Leader (2015) and Vox Lux (2018).

Initially, the film was a co-production between ALP, Brookstreet Pictures (Trevor Matthews and Nick Gordon), Brian Young’s Three Six Zero, the Polish company Madants, and executive producers Christine Vachon, Pamela Koffler, and David Hinojosa of Killer Films.

On September 2, 2020, Deadline revealed that Joel Edgerton and Marion Cotillard would star as the leads, László Tóth and Erzsébet Tóth, respectively, with Mark Rylance joining the cast as László’s mysterious client. Additional casting included Sebastian Stan, Vanessa Kirby, Isaach De Bankolé, Alessandro Nivola, Raffey Cassidy, and Stacy Martin in undisclosed roles. Corbet described The Brutalist as a film that celebrates the accomplishments of visionary figures and holds personal significance due to his family’s history.

Filming was initially set to begin in Poland in January 2021. Protagonist Pictures presented the project to buyers at the 2020 Toronto International Film Festival. The film, set in Pennsylvania, was shot in English, Yiddish, Hungarian, and Italian. László Tóth, the central character, was inspired by real-life architects such as Paul Rudolph, Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, and Marcel Breuer, with some of his furniture designs resembling Breuer’s iconic pieces.

On March 9, 2023, the director of photography Lol Crawley, editor Dávid Jancsó, and costume designer Kate Forbes were announced. Production designer Judy Becker was revealed on April 11, 2023. Daniel Blumberg composed the film’s score. Later in April, it was disclosed that Adrien Brody, Felicity Jones, Guy Pearce, Joe Alwyn, Jonathan Hyde, Emma Laird, and Peter Polycarpou would join the cast, with Edgerton, Cotillard, Rylance, Stan, and Kirby no longer attached.

The film was co-produced by Andrew Lauren Productions, Yellow Bear, Brookstreet, Intake Films, and Proton Cinema, with financing from multiple companies, including Lip Sync Productions and Richmond Pictures. CAA Media Finance handles US sales, and Protagonist Pictures oversees international distribution. Focus Features acquired the international distribution rights.

Filming, initially scheduled for 2020, was delayed multiple times due to the COVID-19 pandemic and personal circumstances of the cast and crew. It was later scheduled for August 2021, before being postponed to the second quarter of 2022. After further delays, production officially began in Budapest, Hungary, on March 16, 2023, and moved to Carrara, Tuscany, on April 29, 2023, completing filming on May 5, 2023.

The film was shot using the VistaVision process, a technique involving horizontal shooting on 35mm film stock, which was scanned for digital editing. The intention was to create 70mm prints, preserving the original size of the VistaVision frame for theatrical projection. Corbet explained that using VistaVision was an aesthetic choice, as it aligned with the film’s 1950s setting. The film is structured in two acts, with a 15-minute intermission.

The Brutalist Release Date

The Brutalist had its world premiere at the 81st Venice International Film Festival on September 1, 2024, where it competed for the Golden Lion and won the Silver Lion for Corbet. The film also played at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 6, 2024, and was featured in various other prestigious festivals, including the 2024 New York Film Festival, the 69th Valladolid International Film Festival, and the 31st Austin Film Festival.

A week after its Venice premiere, A24 acquired the U.S. distribution rights for nearly $10 million in a competitive deal. The film was released in the U.S. on December 20, 2024, and in the United Kingdom by Universal Pictures and Focus Features on January 24, 2025.

Ahead of its limited theatrical release in New York and Los Angeles, the film was screened in IMAX theaters, with a nationwide IMAX release throughout January. The Brutalist was also selected for the Limelight section of the 54th International Film Festival Rotterdam and is set to be screened in February 2025.

Budget & Box Office Collection

Budget$9.6 million
Domestic Opening $266,791
Domestic Collection$9,333,947
International Collection$2,206,000
Worldwide Collection$11,539,947

Soundtracks

No.TitleLength
1“Overture (Ship)”4:49
2“Overture (László)”3:01
3“Overture (Bus)”2:12
4“Chair”1:44
5“Van Buren’s Estate”0:53
6“Library”3:26
7“Jazz Club”3:38
8“Porn”2:11
9“Monologue”2:38
10“Up the Hill”1:11
11“Pennsylvania”1:01
12“Bicycle”2:55
13“Steel”2:12
14“Intermission” (featuring John Tilbury)11:22
15“Erzsébet”2:50
16“Handjob”1:35
17“Bath”1:02
18“Building Site”4:31
19“Ribbon Cutting”1:38
20“Picnic by the Lake”1:52
21“Gordon’s Dinner”0:55
22“Looking at You”1:00
23“Train Crash”3:13
24“New York”0:57
25“Stairs”1:37
26“Carrara”1:24
27“Marble”2:08
28“Tunnel”1:05
29“Construction”2:50
30“Heroin”3:33
31“Search Party”3:21
32“Epilogue (Venice)”2:55

Awards & Nominations

The Brutalist has received multiple awards and nominations through various categories with praise directed to Corbet’s direction, screenplay, and performances from its cast, especially of Brody, Pearce, and Jones.

Additionally, several awards bodies have also given recognitions to the film’s the technical elements, including Daniel Blumberg’s score, its cinematography (Lol Crawley), film editing (Dávid Jancsó), and production design (Judy Becker). At the 82nd Golden Globe Awards, the film received won the awards for Best Motion Picture – Drama, Best Director, and Best Actor in a Motion Picture – Drama; while at the 30th Critics’ Choice Awards, it garnered nine nominations, including Best Picture and Best Director. It was also named one of the top 10 films of 2024 by the American Film Institute.

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