Brady Corbet's ‘The Brutalist' is Getting Major Buzz

Brady Corbet’s “The Brutalist,” which completed production in the summer of 2023, shot in 70mm, clocks in at 3 hours 35 minutes. It was announced in Venice competition and will also be screening at NYFF and TIFF. The screening at Venice will include a 15-minute intermission.

“The Brutalist” was announced back in September 2020 and was then plagued by delays. It was originally supposed to star Vanessa Kirby, Mark Rylance and Marion Cotillard. Sadly, because of all the delays this film has had, a new batch of actors replaced them: Adrian Brody, Guy Pearce and Felicity Jones. Not too shabby. The plot synopsis:

A visionary architect and his wife flee post-war Europe to rebuild their legacy and witness the birth of modern America. However, their lives are changed forever by a mysterious and wealthy client.

This is the one film this fall that I keep hearing major buzz for. I’ve spoken to two people who have seen Corbet’s 3-hour 35-minute film, and both are saying it’s a “masterpiece.” There’s talk of the film being a major contender for the “Golden Lion”. If “The Brutalist” turns out to garner the kind of acclaim from critics that I think it will, then it would be a major breakout moment for Corbet.

Venice chief Alberto Barbera has been banging the drums hard for “The Brutalist,” citing it in numerous interviews as one particular title to watch. Most recently, Barbera told Vanity Fair that we need to keep an eye out for this one:

One film that I think will be a big surprise is The Brutalist by Brady Corbet, which is an incredible film. It is a very long film: it is three hours and 35 minutes long. It was shot in 70mm. It's an incredible film. Very brave, very ambitious, very personal.

The NYFF writeup hinted at a “richly detailed” and “towering vision”

This recreation of postwar America is alternately hopeful and nightmarish in its portrayal of immigrant living, accruing in meaning and power as it builds to its overwhelming final passages. Interweaving a provocative tapestry of ideas around privilege, money, religious identity, architectural aesthetics, and the persistence of historical trauma, “The Brutalist” is an absorbing, brilliantly acted American epic that reminds us the past is always present.

The film, which Corbet co-wrote with Mona Fastvold (The World to Come), was shot in VistaVision by cinematographer Lol Crawley. The main thematic reference for “The Brutalist” is said to be Ayn Rand’s “The Fountainhead.”

Corbet has directed two films, including 2018’s “Vox Lux,” which caused a real stir at Venice. I thought it had a very strong first half, but lost momentum in its second hour. It still hinted at an immensely talented filmmaker who had already shown great promise with his first film, 2015’s “The Childhood of A Leader.”