A24 has dated Brady Corbet’s “The Brutalist” with an awards-ready December 20 release date. No word yet on whether the 3-hour 35-minute film will have a 15-minute intermission, much like it did at the fall fests, but there’s no reason to believe it won’t.
“The Brutalist” was the most acclaimed film of this year’s fall fests. It’s as ambitious and epic a film as you are likely to see this year. Yet, Corbet recently told THR that “The Brutalist” was made for “under $10M” which is staggeringly low sum for such an ambitious work of art. Given how big “The Brutalist” feels, and the way it was filmed, that is an absolute triumph of indie filmmaking.
The historical epic, which spans many decades, tackles a Jewish immigrant’s rise as a brilliant architect in post-WWII America. Brody’s performance is towering, and Guy Pearce is almost equally brilliant as the shady millionaire who hires him to build an ambitious project.
Corbet’s film won the Silver Lion at Venice, earned raves at TIFF and is now a major Oscar contender. I can definitely see a world where Brody wins his second acting Oscar; his fiercest competition will probably come in the way overdue Ralph Fiennes (“Conclave”).