In the final scene of The Brutalist, Zsófia talks more than she does in the whole rest of the movie. Since The Brutalist examines the immigrant experience in the aftermath of World War II, Zsófia takes a vow of silence because of the horrors she experienced during the Holocaust. The fact that Zsófia doesn’t speak for the majority of the film differentiates her from other characters in The Brutalist. Even though she doesn’t have many lines, since the film begins and ends with her, it is clear that Zsófia is a very important character in The Brutalist.
In The Brutalist, the two characters that are the closest to Zsófia are her aunt and uncle, László and Erzsébet. Even though Zsófia hardly ever speaks her mind, viewers get to see how hard the immigrant experience can be through László and Erzsébet. The Brutalist follows them throughout their first few years in America. However, the end of The Brutalist jumps several years into the future, and features a much older Zsófia. Although, a different actor actually plays the older Zsófia in the final scene of The Brutalist.
The Brutalist Cast A New Actress To Play Adult Zsófia At The End
Zsófia Is Much Older At The End Of The Brutalist
While most of the film follows characters like László, Erzsébet, and Harrison, the epilogue of The Brutalist jumps to the year 1980. At this point in time, the building László designed for Harrison in Pennsylvania has been completed for years. During the epilogue, it is also revealed that László found great success as an architect after parting ways with Harrison and the other Van Buren’s. At the end of The Brutalist, Zsófia makes a speech for her uncle while he is being honored in Venice, Italy.
However, since Zsófia is much older in the film’s epilogue, a new actor plays her. Instead of Raffey Cᴀssidy, who portrays the character throughout the rest of the movie, actor Ariane Labed plays Zsófia at the end of The Brutalist. This casting change makes sense, since the character is meant to be older. Additionally, this casting change also works because the Zsófia seen at the end of the film is much different from the rest of the movie. In fact, the end of The Brutalist is meant to highlight how far Zsófia has come since the beginning of the movie.
The Brutalist’s Original Zsófia Actress Plays Her Grown-Up Daughter In The Final Scene
Raffey Cᴀssidy Has Two Roles In The Brutalist
The epilogue of The Brutalist also includes Zsófia’s daughter, who is in attendance at the ceremony in Venice. Interestingly, instead of casting a new actor to play Zsófia’s daughter, director Brady Corbet chose Cᴀssidy to play her. This detail is only noticeable for eagle-eyed viewers, but it is interesting that Corbet wanted the original Zsófia actress to also play her daughter. In fact, some viewers have even suggested that this choice plays into the themes of The Brutalist.
Perhaps by casting Cᴀssidy as Zsófia’s daughter, Corbet is trying to state that the horrors of the Holocaust will be remembered forever.
On the surface, the ending of The Brutalist shows how far Zsófia has come since being a prisoner during World War II. Zsófia is completely different from how she was portrayed in the rest of the movie. However, perhaps by casting Cᴀssidy as Zsófia’s daughter, Corbet is trying to state that the horrors of the Holocaust will be remembered forever. Additionally, he could be saying that the immigrant experience is never-ending. It’s also possible that Corbet simply didn’t want to hire another actor, but more likely than not, there’s a deeper meaning to Cᴀssidy’s duo roles in The Brutalist.
The Reason Why The Brutalist Recast Zsófia
The Brutalist Needed To Recast Zsófia For Its Ending To Work
At the end of The Brutalist, Zsófia seems to be doing quite well for herself. Not much is revealed about what Zsófia is up to in 1980, but the ending of the film suggests that she is successful and has a happy family. It’s possible that this drastic change wouldn’t have been believable if Cᴀssidy played the older version of Zsófia, as well. After all, Cᴀssidy’s version of Zsófia goes through countless horrors throughout the plot of The Brutalist.
Raffey Cᴀssidy also played two roles in Brady Corbet’s 2018 film Vox Lux.
Therefore, while some fans believe it would have been better for the older version of Zsófia to be played by the same actor, Corbet clearly believed there needed to be a change in the epilogue. Not only is the character much older, but her personality has also changed a lot. Therefore, recasting Zsófia for the final scene of The Brutalist was ultimately the right decision.
