Part of the reason that movie trailers have become so highly anticipated is that previewing upcoming movies has turned into an art form unto itself, with styles and trends. So it’s unique when a movie takes a new approach to its trailer. Usually that comes in the form of a song choice and how clips are spliced together, but for The Brutalist trailer, A24 did something that I can’t recall seeing in another trailer in recent memory (and I watch a lot of movie trailers).
For background, The Brutalist is a 2024 new movie from director Brady Corbet and starring Adrien Brody. Co-written by Corbet and Mona Fastvold, the movie is a historical epic about a Jewish immigrant coming to America after World War 2, chronicling his struggles and rise as he works as an architect. The movie also stars Felicity Jones, Guy Pearce, Joe Alwyn, Raffey Cassidy, Stacy Martin, Emma Laird, Isaach De Bankolé and Alessandro Nivola. Having received high praise on the film festival circuit and expected to be an Oscar contender, The Brutalist releases exclusively in select US movie theaters on December 20.
Just about all of that information is presented in The Brutalist trailer, but in a unique way. As quick snippets of scenes from the movie play, text detailing everything from A24 to the cast and other credits to featuring a quote describing the movie as “monumental" scroll left across the screen. Watch The Brutalist trailer for yourself right here.
While this may not seem like that big of a deal, I’ll be honest, it took me a minute to get used to it. We can’t help but have been a little bit conditioned for movie trailers to have certain formats, so to see something more unique like this is jarring at first. But I do like it.
It’s not flashy but it catches your attention as it challenges the norm. I also love that it feels sparing. We don’t really get any concrete plot details, but the images give us a general idea of the journey to America that Brody’s character has and the work that helps him build his new life. In a time where movie trailers can often reveal too much (how many times has a trailer spoiled what could have been a big reveal in a movie), it’s nice that The Brutalist is going for a minimalist approach to intrigue audiences rather than lay it all out for them.
2024 has seen some big trailers, from Kinds of Kindness’ use of “Sweet Dreams” becoming its own viral trend to Deadpool & Wolverine peeling back major cameos to the Megalopolis fiasco of using fake critic quotes. The Brutalist’s unique presentation adds to an interesting year of movie trailers. I wouldn’t expect this to become a norm, but it’s a cool way for the movie to stand out.
The Brutalist releases in select US movie theaters on December 20 before expanding in subsequent weeks. It is scheduled to hit the UK on January 24, 2025.
