The Brutalist: release date, reviews, trailer, cast, plot and everything we know about the Adrien Brody movie

Adrien Brody and Felicity Jones in The Brutalist
Adrien Brody and Felicity Jones in The Brutalist (Image credit: Venice Film Festival)

The Brutalist, a 2024 new movie from actor-turned-director Brady Corbet, is a historical epic and one of the buzziest movies of the year. So what do you need to know about it?

With a runtime of three hours and 15 minutes (it comes with an intermission, so no need for a repeat of Killers of the Flower Moon intermission incidents from 2023), it lives up to its epic billing. It has also already earned some notable awards and is being lauded by critics. With A24 coming in to help distribute it in the US and Focus Features handling the international rollout, it’s just a matter of time until audiences everywhere get to watch The Brutalist for themselves.

When may that be? Who's starring in the movie? What's it about? Read on to find out about that and more on The Brutalist.

The Brutalist release date

The Brutalist is now playing in limited US movie theaters, with expansion coming in the following weeks in the US. For those in the UK, the movie is set for a January 24 release date. Here's what you need to know on how to watch The Brutalist.

The Brutalist cast

Oscar-winner Adrien Brody and Oscar-nominee Felicity Jones headline the cast of The Brutalist as the husband and wife at the center of the story, László and Erzsébet Tóth.

Brody won the Best Actor Oscar for his performance in The Pianist. Among his other notable credits are The Grand Budapest Hotel, Peaky Blinders, Succession, Poker Face, Ghosted, Asteroid City and Winning Time.

Jones was nominated for an Oscar (Best Actress) in The Theory of Everything, while having also starred in A Monster Calls, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, On the Basis of Sex and The Midnight Sky.

Also in The Brutalist cast are Guy Pearce (Mare of Easttown), Joe Alwyn (Kinds of Kindness), Alessandro Nivola (The Many Saints of Newark) and Jonathan Hyde (Jumanji).

The Brutalist plot

Corbet and his wife Mona Fastvold co-wrote the screenplay for The Brutalist. Here is the official synopsis:

"The Brutalist chronicles the journey of Hungarian-born Jewish architect, László Tóth, who emigrates to the United States of America in 1947. Initially forced to toil in poverty, he soon wins a contract that will change the course of the next 30 years of his life."

The Brutalist trailer

The official trailer for The Brutalist has arrived online. It is very different from the kind of trailers we're used to seeing. See for yourself right here:

The Brutalist | Official Trailer HD | A24 - YouTube The Brutalist | Official Trailer HD | A24 - YouTube
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Check out another trailer for The Brutalist right here:

The Brutalist | Official Trailer 2 HD | A24 - YouTube The Brutalist | Official Trailer 2 HD | A24 - YouTube
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The Brutalist reviews

What to Watch has weighed in with our official The Brutalist review. If you're curious about the critical consensus on the movie, as of December 20 it has a 96% "Certified Fresh" rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

The Brutalist awards

We're keeping track of all the major awards and nominations that The Burtalist receives for 2024. Check out its current tally directly below:

Golden Globes

  • Best Motion Picture Drama (winner)
  • Best Actor Drama — Adrien Brody (winner)
  • Best Supporting Actress — Felicity Jones (nominee)
  • Best Supporting Actor — Guy Pearce (nominee)
  • Best Director — Brady Corbet (winner)
  • Best Screenplay — Brady Corbet & Mona Fastvold (nominee)
  • Best Original Score (nominee)

Venice Film Festival

  • Silver Lion for Best Director — Brady Corbet

Boston Society of Film Critics

  • Best Cinematography (winner)
  • Best Score (winner)

Critics Choice Awards

  • Best Picture (nominee)
  • Best Actor — Adrien Brody (nominee)
  • Best Supporting Actor — Guy Pearce (nominee)
  • Best Director — Brady Corbet (nominee)
  • Best Original Screenplay — Brady Corbet & Mona Fastvold (nominee)
  • Best Cinematography (nominee)
  • Best Production Design (nominee)
  • Best Editing (nominee)
  • Best Score (nominee)

Directors Guild of America

  • DGA Award for Directorial Achievement in Feature Film — Brady Corbet (nominee)

Gotham Awards

  • Outstanding Lead Performance — Adrien Brody (nominee)
  • Outstanding Supporting Performance — Guy Pearce (nominee)

Independent Spirit Awards

  • Best Director — Brady Corbet (nominee)

London Critics Circle Film Awards

  • Film of the Year (nominee)
  • Director of the Year — Brady Corbet (nominee)
  • Actor of the Year — Adrien Brody (nominee)
  • Supporting Actor of the Year — Guy Pearce (nominee)
  • Screenwriter of the Year — Brady Corbet & Mona Fastvold (nominee)
  • Young British/Irish Performer of the Year — Raffey Cassidy (nominee)
  • Technical Achievement of the Year — Production Design (nominee)

Los Angeles Film Critics Association

  • Best Picture (runner-up)
  • Best Cinematography (runner-up)
  • Best Production Design (winner)

New York Film Critics Circle Awards

  • Best Film (winner)
  • Best Actor — Adrien Brody (winner)

SAG Awards

  • Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role — Adrien Brody (nominee)

Washington DC Area Film Critics Association

  • Best Director — Brady Corbet (winner)
  • Best Original Score (co-winner)

Brady Corbet movies

Audiences first got to know Brady Corbet as an actor, with him appearing in 24, Martha Marcy May Marlene, Melancholia, Clouds of Sils Maria and Olive Kitteridge. But after 2014 he has worked exclusively as a director. He has made two feature movies to date — The Childhood of a Leader and Vox Lux — and directed three episodes of the Apple TV Plus series The Crowded Room.

The Brutalist poster

(Image credit: A24)
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Michael Balderston

Michael Balderston is a DC-based entertainment and assistant managing editor for What to Watch, who has previously written about the TV and movies with TV Technology, Awards Circuit and regional publications. Spending most of his time watching new movies at the theater or classics on TCM, some of Michael's favorite movies include Casablanca, Moulin Rouge!, Silence of the Lambs, Children of Men, One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest and Star Wars. On the TV side he enjoys Only Murders in the Building, Yellowstone, The Boys, Game of Thrones and is always up for a Seinfeld rerun. Follow on Letterboxd.

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