Culture Gabfest: The Brutalist’s Outsized Ambition

Slate Conversations

On this week’s show, it’s an all-movie week! Isaac Butler — author of The Method: How the Twentieth Century Learned to Act and host of the new Criterion Channel series, The Craft of Acting — sits in for Stephen Metcalf. First, the panel explores The Brutalist, director Brady Corbet’s two-part epic following the life of László Tóth (Adrien Brody), a Hungarian-born Jewish architect who survives the Holocaust then emigrates to the United States. Then, the three unpack Carry-On, an action thriller set in Los Angeles International Airport. It’s a well-made film with a dumb concept, and smashed Netflix records over the holiday. Finally, it’s that time of year again: Dana leads the panel through Slate’s Movie Club 2024, a cherished tradition in which she chats with other critics over email about the year in cinema. (Read her first post, here.)

In the exclusive Slate Plus segment, the all-movie theme continues, as the three spoil The Brutalist.

Email us at [email protected].

Endorsements:

Dana: Adaptation, directed by Spike Jonze and written by Charlie Kaufman.

Julia: A two-part endorsement: (1) My Cousin Vinny and (2) the production design of Three Men and a Baby (that apartment!)

Isaac: “Eat What You Kill,” a masterfully reported piece by J. David McSwane for ProPublica.

Podcast production by Vic Whitley-Berry. Production assistance by Kat Hong.

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