Adrien Brody leads Oscars buzz

The Brutalist is being tipped to dominate the Oscars and make Adrien Brody a two-time Best Actor winner.

Brady Corbet's 215-minute epic is an across-the-board awards contender, including Australian actor Guy Pearce for Best Supporting Actor, according to a prediction by Variety magazine.

"As the Oscar race heats up, Hollywood is bracing for an intense, wide-open awards season," said Variety's Clayton Davis. "In an Oscar season without a clear front runner, The Brutalist is poised to rise through the ranks."

After its whirlwind tour through the Venice, Toronto and New York Film Festivals, the film screened in front of an audience at the influential talent agency CAA in Los Angeles at the weekend.

The Brutalist follows 30 years in the life of László Tóth (Brody), a Hungarian-born Jewish architect who survives the Holocaust and journeys to the US.

It's a story that deals with addiction, poverty and intolerance as Tóth lands a position with wealthy client Harrison Lee Van Buren, played by Pearce. He strives to be reunited with his wife, Erzsébet, played by Felicity Jones, after they were separated during the war.

Brody won the Best Actor Academy Award in 2002 for his portrayal of Wladyslaw Szpilman in Roman Polanski's war drama The Pianist. At 29, he became the youngest actor to win in that category.