UPDATE: “The Brutalist” is officially rated R for “strong sexual content, graphic nudity, rape, drug use and some language.” The MPA rating announcement comes just three days before the film gets released in theaters.
EARLIER: Hat tip to Will Mavity for this one. He brings up something that I hadn’t noticed; Brady Corbet’s “The Brutalist,” which has screened all over the country for press, and at film festival, these past few months, still hasn't gotten an MPA rating. The film opens in a week? Something’s off here.
The MPA might be giving A24 a hard time with this one; it is quite possible they have stamped “The Brutalist” with an NC-17 rating. The film has a lot of full frontal nudity, some graphic sex, not to mention a porn interlude, drug use and something happens near the end that is … very unpleasant to watch.
Given that the 70mm prints are already done, and the film has booked theaters in LA and NYC, it would be a real chore to recut the film at this point. I’m not sure if there’s any other way around it. Don’t be surprised if the film just ends up going unrated.
Coincidentally, it’s just been announced that “The Brutalist” will be getting an IMAX release in January. Meanwhile, the 70mm screenings begin on December 19 in New York City and Los Angeles. The 3 hour 35 minute film carries four miles of celluloid film, which weighs a whopping 259 pounds.