The Brutalist on HBO Max: Adrien Brody’s Oscar-Winning Epic Explained & Ending Breakdown

If you didn’t have the time (or stamina) to sit through The Brutalist in theaters, don’t worry — the intense, 3.5-hour journey is now available on HBO Max. And let’s be real: watching from your couch, with the ability to pause and breathe, might be the best way to take it all in.

Directed by Brady Corbet (Vox Lux, Melancholia) and co-written with Mona Fastvold, The Brutalist has quickly become one of the most talked-about films of the year. While it missed out on the 2025 Oscar for Best Picture (that went to Anora), Adrien Brody took home his second Oscar for Best Actor — and the movie also snagged awards for Best Cinematography and Best Original Score.

But if you’re one of the many people who finished the film and asked, “Wait, what just happened?” — you’re not alone. That ending is haunting and deeply layered. So let’s break it down.

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Watch ‘The Brutalist’ Now on HBO Max

The story follows László Tóth (Brody), a Hungarian-Jewish architect and Holocaust survivor, who arrives in post-war Philadelphia in 1947. He’s quiet, reserved, but clearly brilliant. László moves in with his cousin Attila (played by Alessandro Nivola), who has tried to separate himself from his Jewish heritage. Together, they begin working on a project that sets the stage for everything that follows.

That project is a modernist library for a wealthy family, the Van Burens. László designs it with raw concrete and soft natural light — a signature of the real-life architectural movement called Brutalism. When Harrison Lee Van Buren (Guy Pearce), the family patriarch, returns home and sees the new library, he’s furious. It’s not what he wanted, and he lashes out at everyone involved. This moment not only changes László’s path but also plants the seeds for an intense and toxic relationship between the two men.

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Over time, László falls into addiction and obscurity — until Harrison re-enters his life with an unexpected offer: he wants László to design a community center, and eventually, a chapel. But this new partnership is just as complicated, with class, religion, and trauma simmering under the surface.

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Fast forward to the film’s final hour, and things take a dark turn. László is reunited with his wife Erzsébet (Felicity Jones), who is now disabled from the lasting effects of Holocaust-era famine, and their orphaned niece Zsófia (Raffey Cassidy), who is mute from trauma. There’s a brief hope of rebuilding life. But as the church project progresses, László spirals. The Van Burens again show their true colors — especially Harrison, whose cruelty takes an even darker twist.

There’s a horrifying, implied assault scene in Rome where Harrison sexually violates László while he’s under the influence of heroin. László says nothing the next morning, and Harrison acts like it never happened. This moment adds a deeply disturbing layer to their already fraught relationship and breaks László in a way that’s hard to recover from.

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Eventually, Erzsébet almost dies from an overdose — after László gives her heroin for her pain. She survives but chooses to leave for Israel with Zsófia. László promises to follow. But before that happens, Erzsébet does something bold: she crashes one of Harrison’s parties and confronts him about what he did to her husband — in front of his family and colleagues.

Soon after, Harrison disappears. The last we see is the shadow of the cross finally appearing on the church tower — something László designed long ago. It’s subtle, but many viewers believe this means Harrison took his own life. Whether that’s true or not, the scene brings the theme full circle: art and suffering are tightly intertwined.

Explore the Real Meaning Behind the Brutalist Style

So, is The Brutalist based on a true story? Not exactly. László Tóth isn’t a real person, and neither is Harrison. But their world is rooted in history. The film is inspired by real post-war architecture and the emotional scars carried by Holocaust survivors.

Adrien Brody mentioned that one of the inspirations was Marcel Breuer, a Hungarian-German Jewish architect who did escape to the U.S. before World War II. So, while László is fictional, his experiences are drawn from a very real emotional truth.

The final scenes flash forward to 1980, at the Venice Biennale of Architecture, where an older, wheelchair-bound László is honored. Zsófia, now grown, gives a speech about her uncle’s work. She explains how his buildings were influenced by the design of concentration camps — not in appearance, but in structure and order. She ends with a quote from him that resonates long after the credits roll:
“No matter what the others try and sell you, it is the destination, not the journey.”

The last image? A heartbreaking flashback to young Zsófia in a concentration camp — reminding us of where her story, and László’s, really began.

Ready to Watch This Epic Journey?

If you’ve been waiting to catch up on this award-winning drama, now’s your chance.

👉 Watch The Brutalist on HBO Max — It’s streaming right now.
👉 Rewatch the Ending With Fresh Eyes — There’s a lot to unpack emotionally.
👉 Share Your Thoughts — Did Harrison kill himself? Was Zsófia the true narrator all along? Let us know.

The Brutalist isn’t an easy watch, but it’s a rewarding one. It’s a haunting reflection on art, trauma, and identity. And like the architecture it’s named after, it leaves a bold and lasting impression.