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.
Adrien Brody, Felicity Jones, Guy Pearce, Joe Alwyn, Raffey Cassidy, Stacy Martin, Isaach de Bankolé, Alessandro Nivola, Ariane Labed, Michael Epp, Emma Laird, Jonathan Hyde, Peter Polycarpou, Maria Sand, Salvatore Sansone, Zephan Amissah, Charlie Esoko, Levente Orbán, Benett Vilmányi, Peter Deutsch
Where to watch
Max
Curator Review
Verdict
An ambitious, oversized architectural epic with striking visual design, a commanding score, and a strong central performance. It’s most rewarding if you like austere prestige dramas that turn the American Dream into something bruising, ironic, and morally compromised.
Best for
Viewers who like long, immersive historical dramas
Fans of visually formal, director-driven cinema
People interested in immigration, ambition, and patronage stories
Audiences who appreciate a bleak take on the American Dream
Skip if
You want a brisk, plot-driven drama
You dislike slow-burn films with an abrasive tone
You prefer emotionally warm or tidy storytelling
You’re impatient with movies that prioritize atmosphere and scale over easy catharsis
Overview
The Brutalist is the kind of movie that announces itself as a monument and then keeps revealing cracks in the stone. It has real force as a postwar immigrant story, a study of artistic ambition, and a critique of American prosperity built on power, taste, and exploitation. The production design, cinematography, and score do a lot of heavy lifting, and the film often feels physically enormous in the best way.
Worth noting
What makes it stick is the tension between grandeur and discomfort. It’s less interested in inspiration than in the price of being “made” by America, and it keeps returning to the idea that success can be another form of submission. The performances are strong across the board, especially when the film shifts from aspiration to domination.
Bottom line
It’s not a perfectly smooth experience, and some viewers will find its structure and tonal pivots blunt or overdetermined. But as a piece of serious, old-school cinematic ambition, it’s hard to ignore. Even when it frustrates, it does so on a scale that feels rare now.
Top Letterboxd reviews
diego andaluz (4★) · 22934 likes
To anyone who thinks the ending is too simplistic and attempts to tie things up in a nice bow, do you really think “it is the destination, not the journey” was meant to be taken at face value?
Zsofia—like much of America trying to sell how great the “American Dream” is—attempts to package Laszlo’s life in a nice, digestible speech with a pleasant ending. In an abrupt tonal shift, the complex, grand, uncomfortable atmosphere of the previous three hours is… more
ConnorEatsPants (3.5★) · 21926 likes
i had to use the restroom and walked back in during the first Handjob scene. was really awkward. Then like 15 mins later there was an intermission and I didn’t need to go to the restroom anymore so i played angry birds on my phone. Had to use the restroom again during the second half of the film (i had a large soda). Walked back into the theater during the surprise 2nd Handjob scene.
demi adejuyigbe · 15358 likes
the first half is terrific– reminded me of watching a really good 90/2000s biopic– as is the score and cinematography through the entire thing, but the second half… i don’t know. it’s like watching an impressive floor routine that ends in the running man. what were you going for. why’d you end with that. cannot stress enough that I looooved the first half though, even the opening credits made me almost gasp with joy. bowled over by the production itself, too- shot in 31 days for under class="h-100"0 million? how the fuck?
marty (5★) · 12854 likes
This made me want to light a cigarette and stare at a wall for two hours. Five stars.
júlia (4.5★) · 11673 likes
i simply cannot accept the fact that lászló tóth isn't a real person... i just got tár'd again
2007 · Drama, Western · 2h 40m · R · Curator 7.7/10 (389.6K ratings)
A beautifully controlled, mournful film about legend, obsession, and the making of a myth.
Topics
prestige drama, historical epic, immigrant story, architectural aesthetics, American Dream critique, class tension, slow burn, period piece, bleak tone, art and power