The Brutalist
Movie, 2024, The 2020s, Set in Pennsylvania, 1947
The Brutalist is #36 of 37 in release order and #36 of 37 in chronological order in the A24.
The story
When an innovative modern architect flees post-war Europe, he is given the opportunity to rebuild his legacy. Set during the dawn of the modern United States (in Pennsylvania), his wife joins him, and their lives are forever changed by a demanding, wealthy patron.
The Brutalist recap
The Brutalist (2024) follows László Tóth, a Hungarian Jewish architect who survives Buchenwald and starts over in postwar Pennsylvania under a volatile patron. Brady Corbet directs and co-writes with Mona Fastvold; the film runs about three and a half hours with an intermission. In 1947, László (Adrien Brody), separated from his wife Erzsébet (Felicity Jones) and niece Zsófia (Raffey Cassidy), works for his cousin Attila (Alessandro Nivola) in Philadelphia until a library job for the industrialist Harrison Lee Van Buren (Guy Pearce) goes wrong and Attila throws him out. Three years later, a heroin-using László shovels coal alongside his friend Gordon (Isaach de Bankolé) when Harrison returns, praises the library and hires him to build a vast community center in his mother's memory. Harrison's lawyer brings over Erzsébet, now using a wheelchair, and Zsófia, who no longer speaks, while Harrison's son Harry (Joe Alwyn) openly sneers at them. The film stands alone.
The Brutalist ending explained
The Brutalist ends at the 1980 Venice Architecture Biennale, years after a reckoning with Harrison. On a marble buying trip to Carrara, Harrison rapes László, who falls apart; Erzsébet confronts Harrison at his dinner table and calls him a rapist, and Harrison disappears. In the epilogue Erzsébet is dead, the institute was finished in 1973, and an elderly László in a wheelchair listens as Zsófia explains that its rooms echo the camps where he and Erzsébet were held. The film won three Oscars, including Best Actor for Brody.
Post-credits scenes
No. The Brutalist has no mid- or post-credits scene.
Where to watch The Brutalist
The Brutalist is streaming on HBO Max in the US. You can rent or buy it on Amazon, Apple TV, and Google Play.
Ratings
IMDb 7.2/10, Rotten Tomatoes 93%
Where it fits
- Release order: after MaXXXine, before Marty Supreme.
- Chronological order: after MaXXXine, before Marty Supreme.
Cast
- Adrien Brody as László Tóth
- Felicity Jones as Erzsébet Tóth
- Guy Pearce as Harrison Lee Van Buren Sr
- Joe Alwyn as Harry Lee
- Raffey Cassidy as Zsófia
- Stacy Martin as Maggie Lee
- Isaach de Bankolé as Gordon
- Alessandro Nivola as Attila
- Ariane Labed as Older Zsófia
- Michael Epp as Jim Simpson
- Emma Laird as Audrey
- Jonathan Hyde as Leslie Woodrow
Directed by Brady Corbet.