Adrien Brody and Felicity Jones take center stage in the first trailer for The Brutalist, a historical drama directed by Brady Corbet.
The highly anticipated film, which garnered acclaim following its premiere at the Venice Film Festival, will be released by A24 on December 20.
The ensemble cast also includes Guy Pearce, Joe Alwyn, Raffey Cassidy, Stacy Martin, Emma Laird, Isaach de Bankolé, and Alessandro Nivola.
The Brutalist tells the story of László Tóth (played by Brody), a Jewish architect who, along with his wife Erzsébet (Jones), immigrates to the U.S. after World War II.
Upon arriving in America, Tóth secures the patronage of a mysterious and wealthy client (Pearce), a relationship that proves pivotal in shaping his career path.
The trailer opens with a montage depicting key moments in László’s life, followed by Brody’s character welcoming his wife to America with the line, “Welcome to America.”
Corbet, known for his work on Vox Lux, directed the film from a screenplay he co-wrote with Mona Fastvold. The production team includes Nick Gordon, D.J. Gugenheim, Andrew Lauren, Trevor Matthews, Andrew Morrison, and Brian Young.
Premiering at the Venice Film Festival on September 1, The Brutalist earned Corbet the prize for Best Director.
In an interview, Corbet explained why he chose to focus the film on the brutalist architectural movement.
“Brutalist architecture represents something that people don’t understand, something they want to tear down and erase,” Corbet said. “The film is about how post-war psychology influenced post-war architecture.”
In his review, chief film critic David Rooney praised The Brutalist as an “expansive story about a brilliant Hungarian Jewish architect, trained in the Bauhaus school, who survives World War II and begins a new life in Pennsylvania.”
Rooney also highlighted Brody’s powerful performance, noting that he brings “bristling intelligence and internal fire” to the role, conveying both the character’s triumphant highs and devastating lows with raw intensity.
