When I made my TIFF Top 10 a few weeks ago, the movie that easily took the number one spot for me was The Brutalist. Former actor-turned-director Brady Corbet delivered a masterpiece with this post-WW2 story about a Holocaust survivor, László Tóth (Adrien Brody), an architect who immigrates to Pennsylvania, where he wins a wealthy patron (Guy Pearce) who wants him to build a sprawling city center. The success of the project allows him to bring his estranged wife, Erzsébet (Felicity Jones) and niece, Zsófia (Raffey Cassidy), to America, but it comes with a terrible cost that takes him years to realize.
Given the universally positive reviews, everyone expected A24 to give the movie a major award-season push this fall. Indeed, the film has now been slated for a December 20th limited release, while A24’s other big award contender, Queer, will go into limited release on November 27th.
One thing worth noting about The Brutalist is that it was shot in 70mm VistaVision and presented on film at TIFF. Hopefully, A24 can make a celluloid run feasible, as there’s something incredible about seeing this 3.5-hour epic (which has a fifteen-minute intermission) that way. Trust me when I say this is not a movie built for streaming, and hopefully, word-of-mouth is good enough to get a robust release. It certainly seems bound to score a whole boatload of Oscar nominations, with Best Picture, Director, Actor (for Brody), Supporting Actor (for Pearce), and Supporting Actress (for Jones) a no-brainer, as well as nods for its cinematography, score and more.
If you live in New York, The Brutalist will be showing once again on 70mm film at the New York Film Festival. Otherwise, keep an eye on your local listings because this is one that can’t be missed (check out my rave review here).
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