Critics’ Choice Awards 2025: Will Brady Corbet Win Best Director for The Brutalist?

Brady Corbet’s historical drama The Brutalist has been a critical darling since debuting at the Venice Film Festival last year. Now, Corbet is poised to continue his awards season success at the upcoming Critics’ Choice Awards, where he is nominated for Best Director.

The Brutalist and Early Oscar Buzz

The Brutalist stars Adrien Brody as a Hungarian Jewish architect who immigrates to America after surviving the Holocaust. The film spans decades as he struggles to gain acceptance in his new home country while creating controversial Brutalist-style buildings.

When The Brutalist premiered at Venice, critics were quick to praise the film’s grand scope and visual artistry. Reviewers have variously described the movie as “electrifying” and “extraordinary” and praised the outstanding cinematography.

Brody’s lead performance as the brooding architect also earned significant Oscar buzz. He won Best Actor at the Golden Globes, where The Brutalist also took home the prize for Best Picture – Drama. In his acceptance speech, he noted how many people told him the film “wouldn’t work”, but he reminded his critics that films don’t exist without people like him: filmmakers.

Brady Corbet’s Breakthrough with The Brutalist

While Brody is the face of The Brutalist, director Brady Corbet has emerged as the creative force behind its success. Known previously for acting roles in films like Funny Games and Melancholia, Corbet transitioned to directing with 2015’s The Childhood of a Leader.

The Brutalist marks a major breakthrough for Corbet, now age 36. In addition to co-writing the script, he proved his ability to handle a large-scale production with gravitas.

Can Brady Corbet Win Best Director for The Brutalist? 22bet21.com is offering odds of 1.364/1 or 73.3% that he will.

Critics’ Choice Awards Nomination

The Critics’ Choice nominations confirmed that Corbet’s direction has not gone unnoticed this awards season. He is up against several big names for the Best Director prize, including Denis Villeneuve (Dune: Part Two), Jon M. Chu (Wicked), and Jacques Audiard (Emilia Pérez).

Still, Corbet earned a Golden Globe for Best Director over many of these same contenders. With The Brutalist among the Critics’ Choice Best Picture hopefuls, he stands a strong chance to repeat.

The critics groups themselves seem likely to appreciate Corbet’s artistic commitment on The Brutalist.

What a Critics’ Choice Win Would Mean

A Critics’ Choice Award for Best Director would further strengthen Corbet’s Oscar chances. In recent years, winners have included Christopher Nolan (Oppenheimer), Guillermo del Toro (The Shape of Water), and Jane Campion (The Power of the Dog).

Corbet is also poised to become part of an elite group of directors who have won the “triple crown” of directing honors, with awards from the Golden Globes, Critics’ Choice, and Directors Guild of America. In the past decade, only Alfonso Cuarón and Alejandro González Iñárritu have achieved this feat.

For Corbet, victory at the Critics’ Choice Awards would underscore the arrival of an exciting new directorial talent. After years of impressive but small-scale films, The Brutalist proves he has the vision and skills to tell epic stories on the world’s biggest cinematic canvas.