It isnt prompted by a shocking act of violence, nor an eye-popping sex scene.
(Though both do occur during the film, you wont find any spoilers here.)
Instead, that sharp intake of breath is induced by a library.
Photo: Courtesy of A24
Of course, this is not just any library.
Its the point in the film when you realize that Toth is, without a doubt, a master.
I really mean that.
Photo: Courtesy of A24
Vogue:Take me back to the beginning of the project.
Judy Becker:I was chasing Brady, basically.
It was clearly an auteur work, and a visionary work.
Photo: Courtesy of A24
He got me a meeting with Brady, and we hit it off and I got the job.
I think it was just one of those times when everything fell into place.
It was a great group of people, and we had a great time working together.
Photo: Courtesy of A24
Ive been doing this for almost 25 years, and its probably the best filmmaking experience Ive ever had.
I really mean that.
Thats so interesting to hear.
Photo: Courtesy of A24
I mean, not every minute of it was positive, but thats true for any movie.
More money doesnt mean things go smoothly.
There is a lot of money and a lot of it goes towards the production design.
Photo: Courtesy of A24
Im not saying I goteverythingI wanted, but it was pretty nice working on those.
But on movies, its never easy.
It was a great experienceI can honestly say that.
Photo: Courtesy of A24
But hindsight is an amazing thing.
A lot of the correct sort of period sources were already in my vocabulary.
I knew them pretty well.
Photo: Courtesy of A24
Obviously, the design of concentration camps played into it a lot.
How did all those puzzle pieces of the institute come together onscreen?
It was a lot of push and pull.
Photo: Courtesy of A24
And I did make a few adjustments to the large-scale model to align with that building.
It was actually a red cement house, but we changed the color in post.
That was a location I scouted: It was the reservoir for Budapest.
They let us shoot in there, and it was beautiful.
Brady wrote it into the script, as it was so cool-looking.
We basically looked for what was good and used it as a way of expanding the institute.
It must have been quite challenging to create something that is so spartan, but also so striking.
Im so pleased to hear you say that.
It wasnt Brutalist in style, it was just modern.
And it was a sort of square, boxy room then, with this rounded element at the end.
And when I saw it, I felt like we achieved that.
You do feel in that moment that Laszlo is a true artist.
This is the only time Ive ever done it to this extent.
I mean, you do see that a lot.
She was very interested in it, and she brought me to museums and taught me about design.
So even though I never studied it formally, I guess it paid off.
Dont underestimate the power of an informal training.
Did you feel at times like you were inhabiting him, or he was possessing you in some way?
I mean, I usually feel that way anyway when Im designing a movie.
I really venture to live the characters so I can see the world Im creating through their eyes.
Im kind of a method designer in that way.
It had to be that way, because otherwise, it wouldnt have made sense.
This was a very challenging film to make, for numerous reasons.
When you were working on it, did you have a sense that you were making something special?
And how has it been to see such an enthusiastic response from audiences?
I definitely had a feeling that it was special, because I loved the script and Bradys work.
I wanted to do the movie so badly, and it was truly a labor of love.
I mean, whenever you get asked to do a low-budget movie, its a labor of love.
But this really was one, for everybody who worked on it.
But I definitely did not expect that it would get the kind of response that its been getting.
Thats so rare for any movie, and especially for what I thought was really an art film.
I was so nervous at Venice.
This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.
