Mount Purgatory

The five-tiered Brisman building / Brewer is symbolic of the seven-tiered mountain of Purgatory. The transition to the “outside” is the passage from Inferno to Purgatory, or in terms of the spiritual life as the movement from full blown imprisonment in the lower self to the “breakthrough” and freedom of the interior life. Here, Brooks enters the very first level of Purgatory, where the sin of pride and virtue of humility are principally addressed. The very top of Purgatory is the Garden of Eden, the place of “redemption” that will appear later in the film as “Buxton.” 

Brooks’ attachment to the prison, and his all-consuming fear of change; of entering the “outside-Purgatory” are indicative of his lack of interior development and growth. Brooks is the embodiment of the soul that “loves their life,” at the cost of forfeiting the Treasure of “eternal life:” “Anyone who loves their life will lose it, while anyone who hates their life in this world will keep it for eternal life” (John 12:25).