By the end of 2022, Maxine Minx broke out of the Douglas household X She declared “I won’t accept a life I don’t deserve!” The characters in that film showed a willingness to do whatever it took to make themselves stars in the porn industry. She displays a steely determination to survive, even if it means she has to kill someone. Coming now Maggie Xina film that asks if she’s ready to cross Hollywood’s monsters.
In 1985, Ronald Reagan was just beginning his second term. A new cultural conservatism attacks media of all kinds. This was a time when the Parent Music Resource Center wanted to censor potentially explicit albums. The Satanic Panic is in full swing, with parents worried about the dangers of Dungeons and Dragons and heavy metal. Protests against sex and violence in the media aim to protect young people.
Writer/Director Career you west Focuses on recreating a specific era of filmmaking. his breakthrough film devil’s house Exploring the brand of low-budget filmmaking of the 1970s and 1980s, purportedly based on a true story. and X and pearl, his exploration of sexual attitudes seeped into his fascination with film history. He and his collaborators Mia Goss The question of how aging affects all this is also addressed. The people in the movie may be forever young, but their human bodies are constantly decaying.
That kind of continuation MaXXXine. West and Goethe still seem interested in exploring the intersection of film history, sexuality, and aging. However, while there are still questions about human desire and how it is represented in film, much of the film seems more interested in this particular era of Hollywood filmmaking. This is the only movie this year that seems to reference Italy and Italy jallow Film and 1980s American action filmmaking.
At least West created a showcase for the goth performance powerhouse. her performance in the play Maggie Xin Not as noticeable as her turn. pearl, but equally fascinating. This is a role that Goth wears very well. She has the power to age Maxine from scrappy survivor to X Being a world-weary hustler is a gift. She’ll act bravado if it gets her a job. The pressure of landing a potential gig in a music video or performing a peep show at night becomes palpable once the cameras turn off or people stop watching. The trauma of her past violence continues to haunt her.
As she puts it, she has a shelf life in the porn industry, but Hollywood also has a shelf life. This is a movie about the disposable nature of women in Hollywood. The murder of Richard Ramirez (aka “The Night Stalker”) is mentioned in the background throughout the film, along with the murders of women close to Maxine. The thing that stands out most about West is that Hollywood ruthlessly chews up and spits out the women who go out there to live their dreams.
Frustratingly, however, much of the film succumbs to West’s desire to recreate seemingly every style of film being made at the time. West clearly had a fondness for Los Angeles of that period and the films set there. Outside of the movie, that place no longer exists. The people who make up Maxine’s world are from Kevin BaconJake Gittes plays a private eye and an agent with connections to Maxine’s gang. Giancarlo Espositolooking more like a movie character from the period than a real person.
The only three-dimensional human figure in the film is Elizabeth Bender, the director of the horror film “Maxine,” who is portrayed with cold perfection. Elizabeth Dibbits. Her relationship with Maxine is the most complicated. Bender, like most men in the film, is predatory, always looking for someone to take advantage of to get ahead. But Bender recognizes a similar soul who can guide him through this nightmare. Their relationship does bring some weight to the film.
Still, one has to admire the ambition to make a film that pays homage to the Dario Argento-esque gruesome Giallos, a grimy L.A. noir that beverly hills cop. For the most part, it’s fun to see people getting killed in neon reds and blues. But by the end, when the movie turns into an action shootout, it’s reminiscent of both beverly hills cop and the 1987 movie dragnetit becomes tiresome.
West ends up creating a film that hints at a dark ending, but he also won’t do it. Maxine Minx was a monster, but he wanted her to be a sympathetic heroine. Someone people should root for instead of the actual anti-heroine. Eventually everyone knew her name, but for reasons she never really earned.
For a film that attempts to capture the glitz and grime of 1980s Los Angeles, Maggie Xin Mostly used for entertainment. Mia Goth once again delivers an exciting, albeit more subdued, performance. West said he may have another movie about Maxine. However, this suggests that even though Goth has considerable skills, it might be time to leave her on the video rack.
MaXXXine is currently showing on A24.