‘The Brutalist’, the Brady Corbet directorial, a favourite for the Academy Awards on Monday, has won over audiences and critics for its strikingly relevant cinematic exploration of survival, identity, and human resilience.
The film, which is up for an impressive 10 nominations, including Best Actor for Adrien Brody, Best Actress for Felicity Jones and Best Supporting Actor for Guy Pearce, released in Indian cinemas on Friday, February 28, just in time for the Oscars. The film delves into the struggles of its characters in a way that resonates with contemporary anxieties. Lead stars Felicity and Guy, in an interview with ETimes, spoke about the film that they describe as an “understanding of that struggle for survival” while discussing the intense physical and emotional challenges of the shoot.
Jones, best known for her role in ‘The Theory of Everything’, reflected on the demands of her performance. “Out of all the roles I’ve done, I have never encountered anything as technically demanding as this. Portraying the effects of malnutrition and trauma while also maintaining the emotional intensity of the scenes was a real challenge,” she said.
“And then with the accent and the Hungarian speaking—I often approach roles by meticulously understanding who the character is, what they’ve been through, and how they arrive at the moment you see them on screen. But she has a sort of Jedi-like quality—an intensity, an inner core of strength and truth.”
Pearce, meanwhile, opened up about the complexity of his character, Harrison Lee Van Buren who oscillates between moments of control and insecurity. “I was drawn to the unpredictable nature of my character,” he explained. “On some level, he’s an insecure man masking his feelings of unworthiness. He tries to project confidence, but he doesn’t possess the artistry he so admires in Adrian’s character. He’s a performative figure—it’s all about the show. That’s why we see him flying off the handle one minute and being warm and fuzzy the next. Everyone around him is just expected to deal with that unpredictability.”
Discussing the film’s broader relevance in today’s world, Jones emphasized how it resonates as both a human and survivor story. “The film taps into the struggle for survival, something everyone can empathise with,” she said. “It explores how we maintain our relationships, how we come to understand ourselves. These are universal questions people ask every day. And in the midst of today’s political and technological upheaval, the film feels deeply relevant.”
Pearce echoed this sentiment, expressing concerns about the impact of artificial intelligence on human connection. “In the face of AI, which everyone seems to be getting excited about, we have to remember the value of things that still feel human and real,” he said. “As much as AI is a fascinating novelty, it’s not the answer to everything. The answer lies in who we are as people, and we need to be careful with how we engage with technology.”
‘The Brutalist’ follows a Holocaust survivor who relocates to the U.S., only to become entangled in the pursuit of the American Dream after meeting a shrewd businessman.
