Contending for the best-picture accolade and garnering 10 overall Oscar nominations, “The Brutalist” is no doubt one of the best films of the year. The A24 picture directed by Brady Corbet, starring Adrian Brody as the Jewish architect László Tóth, stole moviegoers’ attention with its beautiful atmosphere and gripping post-WWII story. Though, following its late December release, it had generated controversy.
To help alleviate budget and time constraints, Corbet used generative AI models to improve and complete “The Brutalist.” Corbet’s use of generative AI is either taking advantage of useful resources or taking a blow to his credibility in the industry.
In an interview with RedShark News, Corbet stated that they used a Ukrainian AI program, Respeecher, to improve the accuracy of Brody and his support’s Hungarian accents. Much of the use of Respeecher was used to replace certain sounds and letters during the speech, something that could be done with enough time in ProTools or similar editing software.
Besides the use of Respeecher, Brody and Felicity Jones spent months working with a dialect coach to improve their Hungarian accents. Alongside this, Brody’s mother is a Hungarian immigrant herself, giving him a background in the language. The use of AI in this manner is fair; it improved the set’s workflow, improved the authenticity of the film and, overall, does not seem to negatively affect jobs or artists within the film industry.
The second use of AI in the film comes into play during the final scene, at the Venice Biennale, an International Architectural exhibition hosted in Venice, Italy.
Supposedly, during the backing video presentation shown during the final speech at the exhibition, there were many design plans, drawings and photos of constructed buildings created using or improved by generative AI. This is where the reputation of “The Brutalist” becomes somewhat tarnished.
Generative AI should not be used to create art in this manner for such a production, and while A24 is a smaller production house with smaller budgets, cutting corners in this way is unacceptable. This use of AI takes jobs away from set and graphic designers, while also taking from other artists’ works to create something “new.”
In 2023, the film “Late Night With the Devil” received heavy criticism for its use of generative AI. In a similar matter, they used AI to create slide transitions in between scenes of their imitated TV set. The use of AI here was heavily frowned upon, and it should be for Corbet’s film too.
“The Brutalist” deserves some praise; it is a beautiful film with a phenomenal story and stellar performances. But, some of their use of AI is downright appalling. When they could have worked with great artists in the industry, they took the easy route, leaving a sour taste in moviegoers’ mouths.
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