Golden Globes 2025: ‘The Brutalist’ wins ‘Best Motion Picture – Drama’
At the 82nd annual Golden Globes, Brady Corbet’s independent epic The Brutalist has been named ‘Best Motion Picture – Drama’.
The Brutalist, which opens in UK cinemas on January 24th, was victorious in the category against huge films with much superior budgets, such as Dune: Part Two, Conclave and A Complete Unknown. It also beat competition from September 5 and Nickel Boys.
The movie, which stars Aiden Brody and Guy Pearce, has been a labour of love for Corbet for seven years. The Brutalist marks the filmmaker’s third full-length project, having previously helmed The Childhood of a Leader in 2015 and Vox Lux in 2018.
The official synopsis for the film reads: “Escaping post-war Europe, visionary architect László Toth arrives in America to rebuild his life, his work, and his marriage to his wife Erzsébet after being forced apart during wartime by shifting borders and regimes. On his own in a strange new country, László settles in Pennsylvania, where the wealthy and prominent industrialist Harrison Lee Van Buren recognises his talent for building. But power and legacy come at a heavy cost.”
Despite The Brutalist’s modest budget of $10million, Corbet successfully made every penny count to make it look like it cost $100m, which was a gargantuan task for the director who needed to make compromises to make it work.
While talking about the final cut in his speech, Corbet said: “I just wanted to leave everyone with something to think about: Final-cut tiebreak goes to the director… It’s sort of a controversial statement. It shouldn’t be. It shouldn’t be controversial at all. I was told that this film was un-distributable. I was told that no one would come out and see it. I was told the film wouldn’t work.”
Adding, “I don’t resent that, but I want to use this as an opportunity to lift up filmmakers — not just my fellow nominees but all of the extraordinary directors in this room. Films don’t exist without the filmmakers. Please, let’s support them. Let’s prop them up.”
The Brutalist was the second most-nominated movie at the Golden Globes with seven nominations, only Emilia Pérez featured in more categories with ten nominations.
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