‘The Brutalist’ Trailer: Adrien Brody Wrestles with His Legacy in Brady Corbet’s Indie Epic Spanning 30 Years

Brady Corbet‘s “The Brutalist” has already stunned at Venice. Now, the epic drama is unfurling its awards campaign with the first trailer.

“The Brutalist” stars Adrien Brody as László Tóth, a fictional Hungarian Jewish Holocaust survivor and architect who arrives in America to build a massive modern community center. The film spans 30 years in the life of Brody’s László, ranging from his project with his employer (Guy Pearce) to his rocky marriage with his wife (Felicity Jones).

The cast also includes Joe Alwyn, Alessandro Nivola, Raffey Cassidy, and Stacy Martin.

“The Brutalist” is writer/director Corbet’s third film after “The Childhood of a Leader” (2015) and “Vox Lux” (2018); he has also acted in films such as “Melancholia,” “Mysterious Skin,” and “Thirteen.” Mona Fastvold co-wrote the script for “The Brutalist,” with Venice Film Festival artistic director Alberto Barbera comparing the feature to King Vidor’s 1949 adaptation of “The Fountainhead.”

“The Brutalist” reunites Corbet with his frequent collaborator, director of photography Lol Crawley.

The feature was filmed in Budapest and Tuscany in Spring 2023 after COVID delays on a budget of less than $10 million.

Corbet recently told Variety that he spent seven years developing “The Brutalist,” which became a 215-minute sprawling drama that has a 15-minute intermission.

“We cut every corner we could to make sure that every single cent was onscreen,” Corbet said. “It was a Herculean effort, and I wouldn’t recommend it to anyone, because it was just years and years of essentially working for free.” 

IndieWire critic David Ehrlich wrote in the review that lead star Brody gives a “raw, sincere, and commanding” performance “in a role that evokes ‘The Pianist’ in too many ways to count.”

“The Brutalist” debuted at the Venice Film Festival, with North American distributor A24 positioning the drama as an Oscar contender; Focus Features has the international distribution rights.

Trevor Matthews and Nick Gordon produce for Brookstreet UK with Brian Young and Kaplan Morrison’s Andrew Morrison. Andrew Lauren for Andrew Lauren Productions and D.J. Gugenheim also produce. Joshua Horsfield’s Intake Films is co-producing, while Viktoria Petrányi’s Proton Cinema provided production services in Hungary. Brookstreet UK and Kaplan Morrison financed the film with Lip Sync Productions, Richmond Pictures, Meyohas Studio, Carte Blanche, Pierce Capital Entertainment, and senior lender Cofiloisirs.

“The Brutalist” premieres in select theaters December 20. Check out the trailer below.