The Brutalist (2024)

Detailed Summary

Overture – Arrival in America (1947)
Jewish-Hungarian architect László Tóth (Adrien Brody) survives the Holocaust and begins a fraught journey to America. A stark, upside-down shot of the Statue of Liberty sets a tone of disorientation and fractured hope.

Part 1 – The Enigma of Arrival
In Philadelphia, László stays with cousin Attila (Alessandro Nivola), who’s distanced himself from his heritage. They’re commissioned by Harry Van Buren (Joe Alwyn) to renovate his wealthy father’s library—but chaos ensues when Harrison Van Buren (Guy Pearce) doesn’t consent, fires them, and refuses payment. This collapse sends László into despair and heroin addiction, working coal by day.

Part 2 – The Hard Core of Beauty
Years later, Harrison reappears, praising the library, settling debts, and funding László’s immigration and work. László’s wife Erzsébet (Felicity Jones) and mute niece Zsófia (Raffey Cassidy) finally arrive. He’s commissioned to build a grand community center—including a chapel whose chapel tower forms a cross in sunlight. Tensions emerge: cost-cutting, xenophobia, personal tragedy. Harry’s inappropriate behavior toward Zsófia surfaces, and a supply-train derailment halts progress.

Marble Quarries & Betrayal
During a marble selection trip in Italy, Harrison rapes László, vitriolic in denouncing him as unworthy—trauma that fractures László’s psyche.

Family Collapse & Exodus
László, now erratic and emotionally distant, gives Erzsébet heroin for pain. She nearly dies from an overdose. Choosing dignity, she confronts Harry publicly, leading to Harrison’s disappearance. The couple decides to relocate to Jerusalem when Zsófia marries and emigrates—leaving unfinished their grand American vision.

Movie Ending

After Erzsébet confronts Harry about his sexual assault on her husband, Harrison Van Buren vanishes—his fate left ambiguous. The film then leaps to 1980 Venice Biennale, where a retrospective of László’s work, including the completed Van Buren Institute, is unveiled. Now in a wheelchair, László listens as Zsófia delivers a poignant speech: she reveals his architectural design echoes the footprints of concentration camps—an artistic transformation of personal trauma.
She closes with his mantra: “No matter what the others try and sell you, it is the destination, not the journey.” A low-fi disco tune begins rolling into the credits—undercutting conventional closure.

Are There Post-Credits Scenes?

No. The low-fi disco ending that rolls into the credits is the film’s final beat—there’s no additional post-credits scene.

Type of Movie

An epic period drama and historical fiction, structured like a two-part symphony with intermission—rich in architectural metaphors and existential themes.

Cast

• Adrien Brody as László Tóth
• Felicity Jones as Erzsébet Tóth
• Guy Pearce as Harrison Lee Van Buren
• Joe Alwyn as Harry Lee Van Buren
• Raffey Cassidy (and Ariane Labed) as Zsófia
• Alessandro Nivola as Attila Miller
• Isaach de Bankolé as Gordon
• Supporting: Stacy Martin, Emma Laird, etc.

Film Music and Composer

Score composed by Daniel Blumberg, using contrasting brass for construction-site scenes and synth for the Venice epilogue. Over two hours of music were written, beginning with an overture during the opening sequence.

Filming Locations

Primarily shot in Hungary, standing in for both rural Pennsylvania and Italian quarries. VistaVision cinematography (Lol Crawley) amplifies period authenticity and epic scope. Key scenes set in Carrara marble quarries, Italy, where personal and architectural horror merge.

Awards and Nominations

• 10 Academy Award nominations; wins for Best Actor (Brody), Best Cinematography, Best Original Score.
• Golden Globes: wins for Best Drama, Best Director, Best Actor .
• Venice Film Festival: Silver Lion for Best Direction.
• AFI “Top Ten Films of 2024” .

Behind the Scenes Insights

• Shot in VistaVision to recreate expansive architectural feel.
• Produced on lean budget (~$10M) in Hungary, using celluloid and practical sets.
• 15-minute theatrical intermission echoes classic epics.
• Blumberg demoed the score before shooting; opening scene choreographed to music.
• Corbet and co-writer Mona Fastvold drew from personal and familial history of Hungarian exile.

Inspirations and References

• Fictional but inspired by real-life architect Marcel Breuer, a Bauhaus refugee.
• Title and themes rooted in the Brutalist architecture movement.
• Holocaust imagery and trauma are woven into both form and content.

Alternate Endings and Deleted Scenes

No wide reports of alternate endings or major deleted scenes, though early scripts may have included more backstory on Harrison’s fate (left ambiguous intentionally).

Book Adaptations and Differences

Not based on any book—an original screenplay, though deeply informed by historical architecture and the Holocaust. No adaptation notes apply.

Memorable Scenes and Quotes

Key Scenes

• Opening overture: Statue of Liberty upside‑down.
• Library renovation and Harrison’s swift rejection.
• Marble quarry sequence where psychological and physical terrain collide.
• Erzsébet’s public confrontation of Harry.
• Venice Biennale epilogue.

Iconic Quotes

• “No matter what the others try and sell you, it is the destination, not the journey.”
• Harrison to László: “You are a leech on society.”
• A late monologue: Zsófia’s revelation that architecture echoes the camps.

Easter Eggs and Hidden Details

• Upside‑down Liberty image mirrored at film’s end.
• The chapel’s cross formed by sunlight and design—a structure, not a sermon.
• Marble-quarry visuals echo Nazi-era tunnels (Dora‑Mittelbau).
• Sparse synth in Venice echoes 1980s period voice .

Trivia

• Tied with Megalopolis as grand architectural epics of 2024.
• Built from 2+ hours of original score.
• Intermission borrowed from films like Gandhi.
• Brody is son of a Hungarian refugee—adds authenticity.

Why Watch?

• A bold three-and-a-half-hour emotional epic fusing architecture, trauma, artistry, identity.
• A standout award-winning performance by Adrien Brody.
• Rare modern film with theatrical intermission and scope.
• Bridges visual storytelling with historical grief.

Director’s Other Films

• Vox Lux (2018)
• The Childhood of a Leader (2015)

Recommended Films for Fans

• Megalopolis (2024)
• The Master (2012)
• The Pianist (2002)
• There Will Be Blood (2007)
• Vertigo (1958)