I Watched The Brutalist, And Now I Need To Talk About Why All Long Movies Should Have Intermissions

[Taylor Swift]

Let's give The Brutalist its flowers for this, and hope more films take notes.

 

 

 

 

Anytime a movie is over two-and-a-half hours I have to brace myself. I know I’m in for a long haul, and a lot of the time, I dread it. In fact, sometimes it can make me put off seeing a film. There’s no denying a long runtime like this can make or break a movie. So, when I saw one of the best movies of 2024, The Brutalist, I was overwhelmed by its three-and-a-half-hour runtime and I was dreading seeing it. Thankfully, though, there was an intermission halfway through, and experiencing that showed me why all long movies need a break in the middle.

Following The Brutalist winning many 2025 Golden Globes, I knew I needed to trek to the theater to see it, despite being turned off by its runtime. However, I knew Brady Corbet’s movie had an intermission, which lessened the blow a bit, but I didn’t realize how much it’d help the movie succeed.

Corbet said that he needed The Brutalist to have an intermission, and it was simply because he has a hard time sitting still for over three hours. That’s true for me too, and I imagine it’s how many feel when they brace themselves for a long film. So, from a personal standpoint, it’s just nice to stand up, stretch and move before locking in for the second half.

From a story standpoint, The Brutalist has two distinct parts. Without spoiling much, the first part follows Adrien Brody’s Jewish immigrant architect László Tóth as he tries to make a life in the United States after escaping Europe during World War II. The second part follows his consistent work, the return of his wife and the micro and massive aggressions he faces due to discrimination and antisemitism.

That’s a lot to take in, and the break was perfect. It gave me time to decompress, think about what I saw and mentally prepare for what was to come. Also, I could use the bathroom without missing part of the movie. Then, that got me thinking about the fact that plays and musicals have been operating this way for ages, and we need movies to do this more too.

To really emphasize the impact the intermission had on my enjoyment of the film, I agreed with our review of The Brutalist and gave it four stars. However, if there wouldn’t have been an intermission, I would have given it a three.

Having the break in the middle made the movie less overwhelming, I thought of it as two 1 hr. 40 mins. movies rather than one massive three-and-a-half-hour film. Plus, the break gave me an opportunity to pause and reflect on what I saw while also relaxing for a second before getting back into things.
When I think about long movies I’ve seen in the last few years, I know runtime played into my overall opinion of them. While reviews for Killers of the Flower Moon were excellent, I got weighed down by how long and heavy the film was, a break would have helped. Kevin Costner’s Horizon would have benefitted greatly from an intermission too. Heck, even though I love Wicked, I’ll admit that it’s quite long and I did have to get up and go to the restroom when I saw it in theaters.

Basically, the point is, that breaks help us comprehend what we've seen, provide a reprieve, and give us an opportunity to stretch, use the bathroom and get a snack. People need time to process and breathe, and that's what intermissions give us -- The Brutalist is an excellent real example of how effective they can be.

In a world where 90-minute movies are ideal, having a ten to 15-minute intermission in a film that is over 2 hr. 30 min. would help audiences enjoy, process and look forward to extra-long movies rather than dread them. So, please, filmmakers and studios, put intermissions in your long movies!

If you are looking to see The Brutalist, an excellent film with a wonderful intermission, you can catch it in theaters now alongside many other exciting projects on the 2025 movie schedule.