Brady Corbet’s The Brutalist took home three major Academy Awards last night, winning Best Actor, Best Cinematography, and Best Film Score. However, the film, which has divided architecture critics, failed to secure the coveted Best Picture award, which went instead to Sean Baker’s Anora.
The snub raises questions: Why did The Brutalist come up short? And did Anora truly deserve the night’s top honor?
Controversy Shadows The Brutalist
One factor that may have hindered The Brutalist’s Best Picture chances is the controversy surrounding its production. In January, reports emerged that the filmmakers used generative AI to modify Adrien Brody’s Hungarian accent for his role as László Tóth, a move that sparked backlash.
The film also faced criticism from publications such as Jewish Currents, The Forward, and The New Yorker, which accused Corbet of distorting Jewish history and trauma to craft a Hollywood spectacle. Independent filmmaker Rebecca Pierce dismissed the film as “an unproductive ambiguity,” while journalist Siddhartha Mahanta suggested it was structured as “a piece of Zionist propaganda.” PIN-UP critic Whitney Mallett added that The Brutalist demonstrated only a superficial understanding of its architectural subject matter, likening it to a project by someone with “a Pinterest-understanding of Brutalism.”
Anora’s Own Controversies
Anora’s win was not without criticism either. The Kyiv Independent condemned the film for casting Yuri Borisov, an actor previously involved in Russian propaganda films. Borisov has also visited illegally occupied Crimea and voiced support for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Writing for The Guardian, Pjotr Sauer noted that Russian state propagandists were “overjoyed” by Anora’s success, calling its win “a victory for Russian culture.”
Triumphs and Disappointments
While The Brutalist excelled in cinematography, its production design fell short. Despite praise for Judy Becker’s intricate vision of Tóth’s architectural work, the Best Production Design Oscar went to Wicked, designed by Nathan Crowley and Lee Sandales, who earned accolades for their references to Hans Poelzig’s Großes Schauspielhaus in Berlin.
However, cinematographer Lol Crawley’s work on The Brutalist secured a win, as he and Corbet revived Vista Vision, a widescreen filming technique considered rare in modern cinema. The film triumphed in this category over strong contenders like Dune: Part Two, Emilia Pérez, Maria, and Nosferatu.
Meanwhile, Emilia Pérez had once been a frontrunner until controversy struck. Lead actress Karla Sofía Gascón faced backlash over past racist and Islamophobic tweets, while director Jacques Audiard was criticized for offering a stereotypical portrayal of Latin American culture from a predominantly European production team—a critique similar to the ones leveled at both The Brutalist and Anora.
A Deeper Connection Between Anora and The Brutalist
Both Anora and The Brutalist tackle Jewish identity in some form. Anora features Brighton Beach—a neighborhood often referred to as “Little Odesa” and home to a significant Jewish population—but largely sidesteps Ukraine’s decade-long war with Russia, a point of contention for Ukrainian filmmaker Alexander Rodnyansky.
Meanwhile, Corbet’s film has been accused of treating Zionism superficially, reducing complex themes to a stylized aesthetic of Brutalism.
A Real Pain: A Film That Got It Right
Among the Oscar nominees, the film that most authentically explored Jewish trauma was A Real Pain, starring Jesse Eisenberg and Kieran Culkin. The film, which follows two cousins on a journey to Poland to visit their grandmother’s pre-Holocaust home, resonated deeply with audiences. Culkin won Best Supporting Actor for his performance.
At the BAFTA Film Awards, Eisenberg delivered a poignant speech, thanking his wife for teaching him that “my grief is unexceptional, compared to the rest of the world, which is what this film is about.” His approach to intergenerational trauma stood in contrast to the more sensationalized depictions seen in Anora and The Brutalist.
At a time when Jewish suffering is frequently weaponized in global conflicts, A Real Pain stood out for its sensitivity and depth. While The Brutalist and Anora dominated the headlines and sparked debate, Eisenberg’s work quietly delivered the most profound meditation on Jewish identity in contemporary cinema.
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