The Brutalist: OTT release date, plot and everything we know so far

Modified May 14, 2025 21:30 GMT

The Brutalist is a 2024 epic period drama film, now set to captivate audiences when it releases on Max (Now HBO Max) on May 16, 2025. The film, directed by Brady Corbet, features a powerful performance by Adrien Brody, who won an Academy Award for his portrayal of the main character. Fans can also catch it on HBO linear, with the premiere scheduled for May 17, 2025, at 8:00 p.m. ET.

The movie was nominated for ten Academy Awards earlier this year. It has been praised by critics for its direction, acting, and cinematography. The story is about László Tóth, a Hungarian-Jewish Holocaust survivor who comes to America to try to reach the American Dream. The movie shows how hard it is for László to deal with his identity, trauma, and starting over in a new country.

It also achieved significant box office success, grossing $50.2 million against a $9.6 million budget, making it Corbet's highest-grossing film to date.

The Brutalist will be available for streaming from May 16, 2025

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The Brutalist will be available for streaming on Max starting May 16, 2025. It will also debut on HBO on May 17, 2025, at 8:00 pm ET. The most expensive Max plan is the Premium plan, which costs $209.99 a year or $20.99 a month.

Plot of The Brutalist

The Brutalist is set in America after World War II and is about an architect named László Tóth (Adrien Brody) who is Jewish and from Hungary and survived the Holocaust. László moved to the US after the war, after losing his wife, Erzsébet, and his niece, Zsófia.

He is greeted by his cousin Attila, who has become an American, when he gets to New York. László finds out that his family is still alive and trapped in Europe after Attila helps him settle down in Philadelphia.

The story shows László's personal and professional problems, starting with a failed remodeling job that wealthy industrialist Harrison Lee Van Buren hired him to do.

László has to deal with a lot of problems, but his skills as an architect are noticed, and he is eventually given a big job: building the Van Buren Institute, a beautiful community center.

However, László's past and the trauma of surviving make his relationships more difficult, especially with the people he has just started working with. This makes things more difficult in both his personal and professional life.

As László's journey goes on, the story delves deeply into themes of trauma, identity, and ambition. When he sees Erzsébet and Zsófia again in the 1950s, it makes him happy and sad because the effects of the war are still being felt.

The movie shows László's inner turmoil, how he struggles with who he is as a survivor, and how he struggles with the American Dream. In the end, the story is about a man who is torn between his painful past and his desire to make something lasting in the present.

Cast of the film

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The cast of The Brutalist, led by Adrien Brody as László Tóth. Felicity Jones plays László's wife Erzsébet, whose personal struggles show how terrible the Holocaust was. Harrison Lee Van Buren is played by Guy Pearce. He is a rich and cocky industrialist who works for László and turns against him. Harrison's son, Harry Lee Van Buren, is played by Joe Alwyn. His rude behavior toward László adds to the problems.

Raffey Cassidy plays Zsófia, László's niece who is deaf and has been through a lot after the Holocaust, and Stacy Martin plays Harrison's nicer twin sister Maggie Van Buren. Isaach de Bankolé, Alessandro Nivola, Emma Laird, and other actors also appear in the movie.

Fans can stream The Brutalist on Max starting May 16, 2025.

About the author

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