It's shaping up to be a hotly contested Best Picture race at this year's Academy Awards – with several major films still in the running – but one of the frontrunners at this stage is Brady Corbet's epic The Brutalist.
Ad
The film performed exceptionally well when it came to the recently-announced nominations, scoring a total 10 nods including recognition for stars Adrien Brody, Felicity Jones and Guy Pearce in addition to screenplay and direction nods for Corbet.
That awards attention coupled with its existing critical adulation will no doubt shoot it to the top a lot of cinephiles' watchlists, and the good news for UK fans is that, just a day after the Oscars announcement, it has now arrived in UK cinemas – more than a month after its initial release across the Atlantic.
The film charts the story of László Tóth, an architect immigrant to the USA in 1947 who struggles to fulfil the American dream, but whose prospects enhance when he meets a wealthy client Harrison Lee Van Buren – only for this new partnership to pose several new questions.
Speaking in Radio Timesmagazine, star Felicity Jones explained how there was "a real punk quality" to the movie, calling it both "unusually intellectual" and "ideologically interesting".
If that has whetted your appetite to see the film as soon as possible, read on for everything you need to know about how to watch The Brutalist – including details on whether it's streaming.
How to watch The Brutalist – is it streaming?
Adrien Brody in The Brutalist. Universal Pictures
Sadly, no– The Brutalist isn't currently streaming, but the good news is that the film is now available to watch in the UK if you make a trip to the cinema.
The was released in the UK exclusively in cinemas on Friday 24th January 2025 – and take our word for it, it's absolutely worth seeing it on as big a screen as possible.
And if that three-and-a-half-hour-long runtime is a little daunting, rest assured that there is an intermission built into the film.
It's highly probable that the film will be available to stream – or at least rent and own digitally – in the not-so-distant future, but given it's only just released in cinemas, there's still a little while to wait on that front.
We'll update you when we do catch wind of a date!
What is The Brutalist about?
Adrien Brody and Guy Pearce in The Brutalist. Universal Pictures
The official synopsis for The Brutalist says that it "chronicles the journey of Hungarian-born Jewish architect László Tóth, who emigrates to the United States of America in 1947".
The synopsis continues: "Initially forced to toil in poverty, he soon wins a contract that will change the course of the next 30 years of his life."
Although it is set against a backdrop of real history, the film is not based on a true story – with the events and characters depicted in the movie all completely fictional.
The Brutalist cast – who stars in the film?
Adrien Brody and Felicity Jones in The Brutalist. Universal Pictures
The Brutalist stars Adrien Brody (The Pianist), Felicity Jones (Star Wars: Rogue One), Guy Pearce (A Spy Among Friends) and Joe Alwyn (Kinds of Kindness), along with a host of supporting actors from the UK, the US, France, Australia and other countries around the globe.
Patrick Cremona is the Senior Film Writer at Radio Times, and looks after all the latest film releases both in cinemas and on streaming. He has been with the website since October 2019, and in that time has interviewed a host of big name stars and reviewed a diverse range of movies.
James Hibbs is a Drama Writer for Radio Times, covering programmes across both streaming platforms and linear channels. He previously worked in PR, first for a B2B agency and subsequently for international TV production company Fremantle. He possesses a BA in English and Theatre Studies and an NCTJ Level 5 Diploma in Journalism.
