Character Relationship Map: Brimstone

Characters

• The Reverend (played by Guy Pearce) — protagonist

  The central antagonist. A fanatical, abusive preacher who terrorizes the town. He is revealed to be Joanna's biological father, whom he abuses and attempts to rape. He murders Eli, Elizabeth, and Samu...

• Liz (played by Dakota Fanning) — protagonist

  A mute midwife and the film's protagonist. She flees after her husband Eli is murdered by the Reverend. In the past timeline, she was known as Elizabeth Brundy, a brothel worker who escaped by taking...

• Anna (played by Carice van Houten) — supporting

  Joanna's mother and the Reverend's wife. She lives under her husband's strict and cruel religious rule. After discovering his lust for their daughter, she is publicly humiliated with a scold's bridle...

• Samuel (played by Kit Harington) — supporting

  A wounded survivor of a violent gold dispute who travels with Wolf. He collapses at the Reverend's farm and is secretly aided by Joanna. He attempts to rescue Joanna from her father's planned incestuo...

• Nathan (played by Bill Tangradi) — supporting
• Sally (played by Vera Vitali) — supporting

  A prostitute in the mining town of Bismuth who initially protects the young Joanna. She is hanged after shooting a violent customer, after which another prostitute named Elizabeth takes over Joanna's...

• Matthew (played by Jack Hollington) — minor
• Joanna (played by Emilia Jones) — supporting

  The central child protagonist. Abused by her fanatical preacher father, she is sold to a brothel where she is protected by prostitutes. She escapes with the mute Elizabeth (Liz) and assumes her identi...

• Elizabeth Brundy (played by Carla Juri) — minor
• Frank (played by Paul Anderson) — supporting

  The owner of a brothel in the mining town of Bismuth. He purchases young Joanna. He is eventually murdered by Elizabeth (who later becomes Liz), an act that sets off the chain of events leading to her...

• Doctor (played by Justin Salinger) — minor
• Wolf (played by Jack Roth) — minor
• Eli's Father (played by Adrian Sparks) — minor
• Eli (played by William Houston) — supporting

  Liz's husband and a local farmer. After the Reverend's threats and the death of his sheep, he is violently disemboweled by the Reverend. Dying, he instructs his son Matthew to flee with the family to...

• Sam (played by Ivy George) — supporting

  Liz and Eli's young daughter. She flees with her mother after her father's death. In the film's epilogue, she appears as a grown woman with her own child, recalling her mother's sacrifice.

• Pregnant Woman (played by Martha Mackintosh) — cameo
• Marriage Broker (played by Sam Louwyck) — cameo

Canonical Relationships

Family, romantic, and professional connections based on plot evidence.

• Eli's Father → Eli (father)
• Elizabeth Brundy → Liz (Meta Past Identity) — The two names refer to the protagonist across her concealed past and present.

  The plot identifies Liz's earlier identity as Elizabeth Brundy, and Nathan later uses Elizabeth Brundy's wanted poster to identify her.

• Marriage Broker → Elizabeth Brundy (Professional Marriage Arranger) — The broker facilitates Elizabeth's planned exit from Bismuth.

  Elizabeth arranges through a marriage broker to marry Eli.

• Sally → Frank (Professional Employee) — Sally works under Frank's ownership before her execution.

  Sally is identified as a prostitute in Frank's Bismuth brothel.

• Frank → Joanna (Professional Brothel Owner) — Frank controls Joanna's forced placement in the brothel.

  Joanna is sold to the brothel owned by Frank.

• The Reverend → Nathan (Power Controller) — The Reverend extends his pursuit through Nathan's law-enforcement role.

  After becoming a deputy and sheriff, Nathan arrives to arrest Liz; the plot states that the Reverend had sent him to Bismuth.

Story Dynamics

Alliances, conflicts, and narrative interactions that evolve throughout the story.

• Doctor → Joanna (Social Helper) — The doctor's book indirectly enables communication between Joanna and Elizabeth.

  The doctor gives Joanna a book through which she teaches Elizabeth sign language.

• Elizabeth Brundy → Frank (Conflict Killer) — Her violence against Frank triggers her flight from Bismuth.

  Elizabeth later kills Frank before escaping and taking another identity.

• Samuel → Joanna (Alliance Rescuer) — Their mutual aid briefly opposes the Reverend's violence.

  Joanna secretly cares for Samuel after he collapses at the farm, and Samuel later tries to rescue her from the forced wedding.

• Samuel → Wolf (Alliance Traveling Partner) — They cooperate while wounded and fleeing the aftermath of the dispute.

  Samuel and Wolf are the last survivors of a gold dispute and depart together on one horse.

• Elizabeth Brundy → Joanna (Alliance Protector) — Elizabeth protects Joanna and enables her eventual escape.

  After Sally's hanging, Elizabeth protects Joanna and tries to save her from the Reverend.

• Sally → Joanna (Alliance Protector) — Sally provides Joanna's first protection in Bismuth.

  Sally protects Joanna after Joanna is sold to Frank's brothel.

• Sam → The Reverend (Conflict Threatened Victim) — Sam represents the next generation endangered by the Reverend.

  The Reverend leaves Sam's doll in his bed and later threatens Liz that he will beat and rape her daughter.

• Matthew → The Reverend (Conflict Enemy) — Matthew is caught directly in the Reverend's violent pursuit.

  Matthew follows Liz toward the mountains, is shot by the Reverend, and later mercy-kills his dying father.

• Nathan → Liz (Conflict Pursuer) — Nathan becomes the law-enforcement threat pursuing Liz.

  Nathan later arrives to arrest Liz after finding a wanted poster for Elizabeth Brundy.

Story Analysis

An abused woman survives shifting identities, religious violence, and relentless pursuit while sacrificing herself to protect her children.

Plot Progression

1. The Preacher Returns — Liz recognizes the new Reverend and becomes trapped between accusations, threats, and the destruction of her household. Eli's murder forces Liz and the children to flee.
2. Bismuth's Stolen Identity — Joanna is sold into Frank's brothel, where Sally and Elizabeth offer limited protection. After Elizabeth's murder, Joanna takes her identity and escapes through a planned marriage.
3. A Father's Religious Tyranny — Joanna's earlier life reveals the Reverend's abuse of Anna and their daughter. Anna dies publicly, Samuel is murdered during a rescue attempt, and Joanna finally runs away.
4. Retribution and Sacrifice — The Reverend pursues Liz's family into the mountains, where Liz kills him after he murders her father-in-law and threatens Sam. Nathan later arrests Liz, prompting her final sacrifice.