In contrast to the patriarchal norms that dominate “American” family values, The Brutalist quietly insists on the indispensable role of women in guiding not just familial stability but broader legacies of success.
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Brady Corbet’s The Brutalist presents itself as an epic about artistic ambition, immigration, and the personal cost of success. However, beneath its striking cinematography and the towering presence of Laszlo Toth, a Hungarian-Jewish architect navigating postwar America, lies a deeper, more subversive narrative about gender roles and power dynamics within families. Specifically, the film makes a compelling argument – intentionally or not – that women are the necessary leaders of families, even when societal structures seek to suppress their influence. In contrast to the patriarchal norms that dominate “American” family values, The Brutalist quietly insists on the indispensable role of women in guiding not just familial stability but broader legacies of success.
Erzsebet: The Silent Engine of Power
Laszlo Toth, the film’s protagonist, is an artist whose genius is undeniable, yet his achievements are not solely his own. His wife, Erzsebet, is more than a supportive spouse; she is his intermediary, his advocate, and in many ways, the voice he cannot project himself. From the beginning, Erzsebet serves as his mouthpiece in crucial interactions with the Van Buren family, ensuring that Toth’s work is recognized and valued. Without her, he might never have secured the patronage that propels his career forward. This dynamic is made explicit when Harrison Van Buren Sr. remarks to Erzsebet: “Your English is impressive. Perhaps you can help your husband sound less like he shines shoes for a wage.”
His condescension reinforces Erzsebet’s crucial role – she is not just a negotiator but the key to Toth’s acceptance in elite circles. More significantly, Erzsebet functions as a truth-teller, telling Toth the things he needs to hear, even when he resists listening. Her decision to move the family to Israel in the film’s conclusion is one of survival – a rejection of America, which, through both its exploitative business dealings and violent betrayals, has become a site of suffering and destruction. The implication is striking: while Toth may be the architect of physical structures, Erzsebet is the architect of their family’s survival. Her decision-making is what ultimately allows them to escape what is depicted as the figurative and literal rape of their existence in America.
Photo courtesy of A24
Erzsebet’s role is crucial not only in their personal life but also within the broader thematic structure of the film. She is the force that propels the narrative forward, yet she is not given the traditional recognition granted to male protagonists. This speaks to a larger commentary on the invisibility of women’s contributions to artistic and professional success, a theme that The Brutalist subtly yet powerfully underscores.
The Van Burens: A Family in Decline Without Female Leadership
If Erzsebet exemplifies the power of female leadership, the Van Buren family serves as its tragic counterpoint. Harrison Van Buren, Toth’s benefactor and eventual adversary, is a man whose success is tied to his mother’s presence. The film subtly implies that Harrison flourished under his mother’s guidance, but once she became sick and he took full control, the family’s empire began to falter. The patriarchal assumption that male succession is natural and preferable is exposed as a fatal flaw.
This is made more explicit in the treatment of Harrison’s daughter, who is literally silenced by her father in a public setting. Her twin brother, in contrast, is granted the power to run business affairs, despite the film depicting him as, at best, an inadequate imitation of his father. The sister, meanwhile, is presented as observant and perceptive, exemplified in her question to her brother during a climactic dinner scene: “What have you done?”
Her father’s insistence on sidelining her, despite these clear signs of competence, serves as a critique of patriarchal inheritance structures that prioritize male heirs regardless of their actual abilities. Had she been more involved, one could argue, the Van Buren family might have avoided its descent into disgrace. This tension is further illustrated when she tells her brother: “You never listen. Father listens to you because you sound like him, not because you understand.”
This line reinforces her deeper awareness of their family’s failings and the unjust barriers keeping her from taking control. The tragedy of the Van Buren family is not just in its material decline but in its refusal to recognize the daughter as a leader who could have salvaged its fortunes.
The Shame of Harrison Van Buren: A Return to the Womb
Perhaps the most striking feminist critique embedded in the film comes in the climactic moment when Erzsebet publicly calls Harrison Van Buren a rapist in front of his family and associates. She does so with a line that reverberates throughout the film: “You are a rapist, Harrison. Not just of bodies, but of dreams.”
This accusation does not merely expose his crimes; it symbolically emasculates him, stripping him of the power and authority he has wielded unchecked. His response is telling – he flees, disappearing into the depths of the very structure he commissioned from Toth. This retreat can be read as a return to his mother’s metaphorical womb, a regression to the space where he once derived strength but now seeks refuge in shame. In this moment, The Brutalist suggests that his power, like that of many patriarchal figures, was never truly self-sustained – it was always dependent on a female force, whether acknowledged or not.
The Female Voice as the Film’s Bookend
The film’s narrative structure further emphasizes the importance of women’s voices. It is heavily implied that the entire story is being recounted from the perspective of Toth’s niece. In doing so, the film frames Toth’s legacy not through his own direct words but through the recollection of a woman. This is foreshadowed early in the film through a voiceover quoting Goethe: “None are more hopelessly enslaved than those who falsely believe themselves free.”
By the end of the film, Toth himself is literally voiceless, depicted in his final shot as unable to speak. Instead, his niece becomes his mouthpiece, mirroring the role Erzsebet played throughout his life. This choice is not accidental – it underscores the film’s broader argument that while men may be the face of artistic and familial legacies, it is women who preserve, articulate, and, ultimately, sustain them.
Conclusion: The Brutalist as a Feminist Critique
While The Brutalist is not overtly a feminist film, its narrative structure, character dynamics, and thematic undercurrents make a strong case for the essential role of women in leadership – both within families and beyond. Erzsebet’s unseen yet omnipresent influence, the sidelined yet perceptive Van Buren daughter, and the film’s framing of Toth’s legacy through a female narrator all contribute to a subtle but powerful critique of patriarchal assumptions. In an America that frequently minimizes the role of women in family decision-making and societal leadership, The Brutalist serves as a reminder of why such oversight is not only unjust but also ultimately self-destructive. In the end, the film suggests that while men may build the structures, it is women who ensure they stand the test of time.
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Unless otherwise noted, all images are screenshots from the film.
