The Brutalist is a 2024 sprawling cinematic masterpiece from director Brady Corbet. Starring Adrien Brody in a career defining performance, The Brutalist tells the story of László Tóth, a fictional Hungarian-Jewish architect who seeks refuge from World War II in the United States only to find that a complex struggle between his artistic vision, integration, greed, and envy will shape the rest of his life there.
If you have seen The Brutalist and are keen to watch other films that explore similar themes, check out our 10-movie selection below. Whether you’re looking for films that examine the harsher realities of the immigrant experience in America, explore the effects of wealth and greed on the American Dream, or examine antisemitism in American society, there’s something on this list for everyone. Check out 10 movies like The Brutalist, and find out where you can stream them all below!
The Pianist
In an Academy Award-winning performance, Adrien Brody solidified his reputation as an actor capable of boundless emotional rage with his raw and heartfelt portrayal of Władysław Szpilman, a Polish-Jewish pianist who survived the horrors of the Holocaust and the destruction of World War II in Warsaw. Similar to The Brutalist, The Pianist tells the story of a brilliant artist whose life is forever altered by catastrophic human evil. Both protagonists use the mastery of their mediums to capture and express the pain of their traumas, transforming them into both a memorial and reminder for future generations.
There Will Be Blood
Paul Thomas Anderson’s provocative 2007 drama stars Daniel Day-Lewis as Daniel Plainview, a ruthless early 20th century oil tycoon who sinks deep into moral corruption as he goes up against an entrepreneurial preacher, Eli Sunday, played by Paul Dano. Like The Brutalist, There Will Be Blood is epic in scope, and provides merciless social commentary on the consequences of capitalism and performative religion, and their undeniable continued effect on the American psyche.
Golden Door
This 2006 Silver Lion-winner written and directed by Emanuele Crialese and promoted by Martin Scorsese poetically tackles the experience of immigrants making their way from Sicily to New York City at the turn of the 20th century. While the film mostly focuses on the journey by boat to the new world, like The Brutalist, it also addresses how the American Dream is advertised around the world in contrast to the harsh reality of how immigrants are perceived and treated upon arrival.
Foxcatcher
On the face of it, Bennett Miller’s 2014 adaptation of the true story of a wrestling champion and his patron has little to do with the grandeur of The Brutalist. However, Foxcatcher dives headlong into the toxic exploitation of the talented by the morbidly wealthy — which can also be seen in dynamics between The Brutalist’s László Toth and Guy Pearce’s Harrison Lee van Buren. In Foxcatcher, Steve Carrell plays billionaire John Eleuthère du Pont, who recruits troubled Olympic wrestler Mark Schultz (and, fatefully, his brother Dave) to create a world-class wrestling facility on his estate. Like in van Buren and Toth’s dynamic, at the heart of du Pont’s relationship with the Schultzs is hidden envy and desire for ultimate control facilitated by boundless wealth and unchecked behaviour.
Once Upon a Time in America
Sergio Leone’s 1984 epic crime drama sharpens the focus on the way greed and betrayal mixed with the fantasy of the American Dream can lay waste to human connection. Once Upon a Time in America stars Robert De Niro and James Woods as David ‘Noodles’ Aaronson and Max Bercovicz, two Jewish childhood friends growing up in New York who ascend to the top of the city’s organised crime world. The film frequently jumps back in time, as the present-day Noodles reflects on his life and struggles to find closure. Like The Brutalist, Once Upon a Time in America ponders the long-term effects of wealth and greed, and how it erodes the human psyche in tragic ways over time.
Minari
Lee Isaac Chung’s 2020 Best Picture-nominated film is about a Korean-American family in the 1980s who decide to relocate from California to a 50-acre farm in Arkansas. While there, the family struggle to establish their farm and integrate into the local community — a theme shared by The Brutalist. In both films, the protagonists contemplate the costs and benefits of assimilation, which weighs heavily in many conversations as they attempt to make the best choices for themselves and their families while staying true to their roots and visions.
Gentleman’s Agreement
Elia Kazan’s award-winning 1947 drama is a telling examination of antisemitism in the United States at the time that sadly remains relevant today. The film stars Gregory Peck as a journalist who pretends to be Jewish while writing an exposé on antisemitism in New York City, throwing himself into an uncomfortable new reality. Both The Brutalist and The Gentleman’s Agreement highlight the extent to which Jewish or foreign identity is perceived by many non-Jews as less-than and a source of suspicion.
Vox Lux
Brady Corbet’s 2018 feature might be a different beast to The Brutalist, but his style and in-depth exploration of a tortured character and the lingering effects of trauma link the two films thematically. Vox Lux stars Natalie Portman as Celeste, a survivor of a school shooting who later becomes a pop star — only for her fame to start crumbling in the wake of several scandals.
Citizen Kane
Orson Wells’s 1941 epic drama is widely recognised as one of, if not the, best film of all time. Citizen Kane is a fictional semi-autobiographical look at the life and legacy of Charles Foster Kane — who is something of an amalgamation of several American media barons, most prominently William Randolph Hearst. The film documents the rise of a young and ambitious Kane as his cutthroat tactics rake in the cash while keeping any possibility of real connection at bay. Plenty of parallels between Kane, Toth, and van Buren can be drawn, most notably in Kane and Toth’s desire for notoriety and a fanatical dedication to their professional visions; and between Kane and van Buren’s greed that manifests in gross manipulation — not to mention their choice of booze and castle-like living conditions.
Heaven’s Gate
Michael Cimino’s epic 1980s American Western draws focus on the power dynamics between European immigrants and wealthy land barons in late 19th century Wyoming. The film follows the story of James Averill, a local sheriff from a wealthy background who finds himself defending the poor immigrant farmers from a barrage of violent attacks by the rich and hostile Wyoming Stock Growers Association members. Like The Brutalist, Heaven’s Gate explores themes of suspicion and hatred towards immigrants, as well as class warfare and the consequences of tribalism.
Where to watch all the movies like The Brutalist streaming online
Find out how (and where) to stream all the movies like The Brutalist online by scrolling down to the list below. The films are all available to stream online across a variety of platforms in the United Kingdom, including Amazon Prime Video, Netflix, ITVX and more!
