The Brutalist review

THE BRUTALIST: 

BRADY CORBET’S RIVETING 3 ½ HOUR EPIC! 

By Nico Beland

Movie Review: **** out of 4

A24

Adrien Brody in The Brutalist

 

            A Hungarian-Jewish Holocaust survivor and former architect escapes post-war Europe and rebuilds his life in America in The Brutalist, the new film from Brady Corbet (Funny Games (2007), The Childhood of a Leader, Vox Lux). This movie was hyped up like mad during award shows and will likely continue to gain attention at future shows with many people hailing it as one of the best films of 2024 (The movie was released widely in 2025). 

            I’ve never seen any of Corbet’s previous directing efforts like The Childhood of a Leader or Vox Lux, but after seeing this I may need to check out his other work because Holy shit! The Brutalist is incredible and absolutely must be seen on the big screen (The movie is 3 hours and 35 minutes, but there’s a 15-minute intermission during it), I was stunned by the production design and captivated by the story and characters with Adrien Brody (The Pianist, King Kong (2005), Asteroid City) giving probably the best performance I’ve ever seen from him which is saying a lot. 

            The film follows Hungarian former architect and Holocaust survivor, László Tóth (Brody) who immigrates to the United States after being forcibly separated from his wife, Erzsébet (Felicity Jones-The Theory of Everything, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, On the Basis of Sex) and orphaned niece. László resides in Pennsylvania where the wealthy and prominent industrialist, Harrison Lee Van Buren (Guy Pearce-Memento, Prometheus, Iron Man 3) recognizes his talents for building, but László soon learns that power and legacy come at a heavy cost. 

            The film also stars Joe Alwyn (The Favourite, Harriet, Kinds of Kindness) as Harriet’s entitled and pompous son Harry Lee Van Buren, Raffey Cassidy (Tomorrowland, The Killing of a Sacred Deer, The Other Lamb) as László’s niece Zsófia Tóth, Stacy Martin (All the Money in the World, Amanda, The Night House) as Harry’s twin sister Maggie, Emma Laird (Mayor of Kingstown, A Haunting in Venice) as Audrey, Isaach de Bankolé (Coffee and Cigarettes, Miami Vice, Black Panther 1 and 2) as László’s friend Gordon, Alessandro Nivola (Coco Before Chanel, The Many Saints of Newark, Kraven the Hunter) as László’s cousin and furniture shop owner Attila, Jonathan Hyde (Jumanji, Titanic, The Tailor of Panama) as Leslie Woodrow, and Peter Polycarpou (Birds of a Feather, The Lost Honour of Christopher Jefferies) as Michael Hoffman. 

            Overall, The Brutalist is a monumental (Yes, I know it’s a cliché to call this movie “Monumental” because everyone is calling it that, but I don’t care!) cinematic achievement that joins Oppenheimer and Killers of the Flower Moon as landmarks in modern American epics. Like I said at the beginning of the review, this film deserves to be seen on the biggest screen possible (I don’t know if it has an IMAX release or not, but I watched it in Cinerama) to fully appreciate the size and scope of what’s onscreen and the movie looks spectacular in terms of the production design and cinematography. 

            The movie is shot on 70mm film and it really feels like a movie that was made 30 years ago and wasn’t discovered until 2024/5, it even features the old VistaVision logo in the beginning. Sure, Christopher Nolan uses a lot of old fashioned filmmaking techniques in his work, but they still feel like current movies when you’re watching them. 

            This movie on the other hand, with the graininess of the 70mm film and how the movie is shot and edited looks like something from the same decade as Braveheart, Schindler’s List, or Titanic. From the breathtaking landscapes to the set designs, it’s a movie that feels big in every way and yet it’s a film about a Holocaust survivor as an architect. 

            It doesn’t just stop at visuals and cinematography; the performances are also stellar with Adrien Brody giving some of the best acting I’ve ever seen from him. He is extraordinary as this man who immigrated to America with incredible building talents and will go to huge lengths to make his craft exactly the way he wants it regardless of what the people funding it think.

            There is a scene where he’s given pictures of his old buildings that he thought no one had records of and learns that the rest of the buildings have been destroyed while his are still standing, it’s a truly beautiful moment. He plays a very relatable character here that I think anyone with a passion for art or craftsmanship can get attached to. 

            Guy Pearce is also a huge standout as Harrison who is seen as a kind and understanding person who sees László’s talents and wants to provide for him. But as the film goes on and you see how he interacts with the people around him, how his son acts, and doing some dirty work behind László’s back, you come to realize he’s a scumbag who uses his charisma to get what he wants, Pearce plays the role extremely well and it’s some of his best acting since Memento. 

            Felicity Jones is amazing as well as László’s wife who is seen at various points in the first half but becomes much more prominent during the second half of the movie when she arrives in America. While she’s not quite as focused on as Brody or Pearce, she has plenty of standout moments including a gut-wrenching scene towards the end of the film that had me on the edge of my seat. 

            Everything I heard about this movie was entirely true, The Brutalist is a riveting and colossal cinematic epic anchored by its amazing performances by the cast and masterful direction by Brady Corbet that deserves all the attention it’s been getting. I can see this film gaining massive Oscars attention and rightfully so because it is a brilliantly constructed landmark that showcases the power of the movies.