In attempting to create an Oscar contender, The Brutalist used AI, and it is now paying the price for it. Based on the fictional life of the Holocaust survivor, László Tóth (Adrien Brody), the movie follows Tóth’s journey to America and his subsequent work as an architect. Along the way, Tóth struggles to cope with addiction, while also facing financial challenges and international fame. The Brutalist earned strong reviews, though it failed to earn back its budget at the box office, and it is poised to thrive at the upcoming Academy Awards.
Unique to Brutalist, however, is the creators’ willingness to speak up about the movie’s use of generative AI. Editor Dávid Jancsó spoke to RedShark News and explained that AI helped to make the Hungarian pronunciations more realistic. Though they attempted to use Automated Dialogue Replacement (ADR) to improve the audio, it was not fully effective. Jancsó instead used AI to enhance the dialogue. He also used it to help create architectural designs. This, in turn, helped save money. Check out his explanation below:
I am a native Hungarian speaker and I know that it is one of the most difficult languages to learn to pronounce. Even with Adrien’s Hungarian background – (Brody’s mother is a Hungarian refugee who emigrated to the U.S in 1956) – it’s not that simple. It’s an extremely unique language. We coached [Brody and Felicity Jones] and they did a fabulous job but we also wanted to perfect it so that not even locals will spot any difference.
If you’re coming from the Anglo-Saxon world certain sounds can be particularly hard to grasp. We first tried to ADR these harder elements with the actors. Then we tried to ADR them completely with other actors but that just didn’t work. So we looked for other options of how to enhance it.
Most of their Hungarian dialogue has a part of me talking in there. We were very careful about keeping their performances. It’s mainly just replacing letters here and there. You can do this in ProTools yourself, but we had so much dialogue in Hungarian that we really needed to speed up the process otherwise we’d still be in post.
It is controversial in the industry to talk about AI, but it shouldn’t be. We should be having a very open discussion about what tools AI can provide us with. There’s nothing in the film using AI that hasn’t been done before. It just makes the process a lot faster. We use AI to create these tiny little details that we didn’t have the money or the time to shoot.
What The Brutalist’s AI Usage Means For Its Reception
The Brutalist Is Coming Under Fire
As the Best Picture contenders at the Oscars slowly begin to take shape, this is a devastating attack for Brutalist. Its entire thesis relies on artistic integrity, and the Oscars may not be wholly willing to reward an editor who is so public about AI usage. Just as Dune: Part Two will suffer for reusing music, this movie could face backlash from the Academy. The Academy could choose to overlook the issue, if Jancsó is correct that most of Hollywood is now relying on minor AI tools, but it will not be enough to prevent the outpouring of public responses.
After all, The Brutalist has been suffering immense criticism since its AI usage was revealed. Viewers have taken to several social media platforms, including Reddit and Twitter, to complain about the decision to rely on AI. They have been biting back at the idea of the movie earning Oscar nominations when it failed to use human creativity, rather than artificial ideas and accents. Check out some of the backlash below:
Twitter user @onlyafortnight believes that this is a “disgrace” that diminishes “a fundamental aspect of acting“.
Reddit user junglespycan believes that the voice adjustments are not a major issue, but that the AI images are “deeply immoral“.
@elizaheathen believes that the movie betrays its own message by championing artistic integrity and still using AI.
Reddit user RedGreenPepper2599 believes that any AI used to replace workers in movies should be outlawed and ineligible for the Oscars.
@moonyswonka points out the alleged hypocrisy of rendering Hans Zimmer ineligible for the Oscars, while allowing The Brutalist to use AI tools.
Reddit user infamousglizzyhands understands “the constraints of a 6 million dollar budget” but believes that this is inexcusable and “disappointing“.
@tea_chalamet believes that critics’ responses to The Brutalist’s AI usage have been hypocritical, as any other movie would receive sharper criticism.
Breaking from other commentators, @c_valenzuelab argued in favor of AI, as they believe it is equivalent to using practical or digital effects.
RelatedThe Brutalist is one of the best-reviewed films of 2024, and its narrative offers a ton of thematic material to examine. Here’s our perspective.
Our Take On The Brutalist’s AI Usage
It Might Be Convenient, But It Lacks Integrity
It is difficult to deny that AI has been slowly seeping its way into every industry. Publicly drawing the line can be even more challenging. The Brutalist‘s uses of AI are fairly subtle, and the audio specifically uses the editor’s real voice. That should strip away complaints of artistic integrity. The drawings, however, lack integrity and do take away from the movie’s message by borrowing other artwork. If not for the themes of the film, it is unlikely that it would receive this much backlash. Still, it will be fascinating to see how the Oscars respond to the controversy.
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