Is The Brutalist True? Was László Tóth a real person, cast, plot, controversies and runtime

The epic drama has already won the Silver Lion for Best Direction at the Venice International Film Festival, been named one of the top ten films of 2024 by the American Film Institute, and been awarded three Golden Globes - including for ‘Best Motion Picture – Drama’.

The story of a talented architect fleeing post-holocaust Hungary for a new life in America is so long that it includes a 15 minute intermission, bit that’s not stopped it from being lauded by critics.

But there are a few things that cinemagoers immediately ask themselves after watching Brady Corbet’s masterpiece.

We’re here to answer them.

What is the plot of The Brutalist?

The Brutalist tells the story of jewish Hungarian architect László Tóth who flees to America in the aftermath of World War Two, leaving his wife behind. Once in America he starts to work for a cousin who owns a furniture shop, creating a library for a wealthy client before both the job and his relationship with his cousin sours. He has to take a menial job but is soon tracked down by the man whose library he transformed, called Harrison Van Buren, who recognises his genius and contracts him to build a huge modernist monument. When his wife, Erzsébet, manages to join him in America, their lives become a rollercoaster of highs and lows, all seemingly orchestrated by their mysterious patron Van Buren and his unusual family.

How much of The Brutalist is true?

The film plays out as a historic biopic of a real-life figure (much like Cate Blanchett’s conductor in Tár), but the truth is that the entire plot is straight from the imagination of writers Brady Corbet and Mona Fastvold. It is a fictional film.

While the plot of the film is a work of fiction, Corbet researched the subject expensively so the way Adrien Brody’s character arrived in America was experienced by thousands of Hungarians following the Holocaust.

The butalist style of architecture that features in the film was popular in 1950s America.

Was László Tóth a real person?

Just like the plot of the film, László Tóth is a fictional character - something which surprises many when they leave the cinema, such is the richness and depth of his depiction.

There was a famous Hungarian called László Tóth but he was a geologist who was born in 1938 and later moved to Australia. He ended up in a mental hospital after claiming to be Jesus Christ and vandalising a Michelangelo statue in 1972. The filmmakers have explained that there is no connection between their character and the geologist, with the name a common one in Hungary.

While Tóth is not based on a real person, Corbet did research genuine architects to come up with the character, in particular Marcel Breuer, who was a Hungarian-Jewish architect who worked in America - although he emigrated before the war.

How long is The Brutalist?

The film is 215 minutes long, including a 15 minute interval. That’s three hours and 35 minutes. The intermission comes around one hour and 45 minutes into the film, for those thinking about how long they will need to hold their bladder for.

What is the cast of The Brutalist?

• Adrien Brody as László Tóth
• Felicity Jones as Erzsébet Tóth
• Guy Pearce as Harrison Lee Van Buren
• Joe Alwyn as Harry Lee Van Buren, Harrison's son
• Raffey Cassidy as Zsófia, László's orphaned teenage niece
• Stacy Martin as Maggie Van Buren, Harrison’s daughter
• Alessandro Nivola as Attila, László's cousin
• Emma Laird as Audrey, Attila's wife
• Isaach de Bankolé as Gordon, László's friend
• Michael Epp as Jim Simpson, an architect
• Jonathan Hyde as Leslie Woodrow, a builder
• Peter Polycarpou as Michael Hoffman, Harrison's attorney
• Maria Sand as Michelle Hoffman, Michael's wife
• Salvatore Sansone as Orazio, László's anarchist friend

What has been controversial about The Brutalist?

Some people have taken issue with the fact that the filmmakers used Artificial Intelligence to ensure the pronounciation of certain Hungarian words and phrases were as accurate as possible. It’s been claimed that this is against the spirit of the film, which was made using traditional techniques to reflect the period of time it portrays.