Oh my…
That’s a decent way to start a review, right? After walking out of tonight’s screening of Mad Max: Fury Road, I had so much built up energy inside of me, I literally had to jump around outside of the theater. Quite a few critics have been hailing George Miller‘s return to his seminal franchise as a “masterpiece”. As far as movies that live and die on their action spectacle go, you can consider me one of the converted.
This fourth entry in a series that hasn’t seen a new film in 30 years is basically a reboot, though you could also see it as a sequel to Beyond Thunderdome in a sort of James Bond sense. Tom Hardy steps into the role originally inhabited by Mel Gibson, and his version of Max Rockatansky basically picks up where his predecessor left off. The world has continued to devolve into a hellish landscape in a way that would make George Romero jealous, but any newcomer to Miller’s post-apocalyptic fever dream will find themselves easily able to grasp the central details: Max is a former cop whose family was murdered, and he now wanders this scorched earth attempting to survive. Max gets caught by the minions of Immortan Joe (Hugh Keays-Byrne), a sort of steampunk Darth Vader/Papal-figure, who is treated like a savior by his men and farms women for their wombs and breast milk. While Max is imprisoned, Joe’s leading lady, Imperator Furiosa (Charlize Theron) makes a break for it with his prized concubines, which sets off a chain of events that finds Max, Furiosa, the neurotic yet redeemable Nux (Nicholas Hoult), and a set of kick-ass ladies (Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, Zoe Kravitz, Riley Keough, Abbey Lee, and Courtney Eaton) on a wild chase as they attempt to lose Joe’s rolling army in dusty desert.
Allow me to emphasize the word chase, as this activity is what makes up literally 99% of Fury Road‘s running time. This is a film that is pretty thin on plot, but bustling with sheer momentum, action set-pieces, intricate design work, and the most rocking score I’ve heard in a film of this type in some time. Through the mostly desert surface, Max and company are pursued by white painted men with explosive muskets, pirates with spiked cars, mercenaries wearing clothes made of bullets, and of course Joe himself. On display is literally every deathrace cliche reinvented for the screen and taken to the next logical extreme. It’s a film so high octane, that Miller even speeds up the action, and envelops it in biting humor, in a move reminiscent of the work of Jean-Pierre Jeunet; and it goes to show that Miller, even at 70, is a filmmaker is still willing to learn and adapt to new influences. Mad Max: Fury Road feels like the work of a much younger and hungrier director, and his collaboration with comics giant Brendan McCarthy (who both co-wrote the screenplay and provided much of the design work, and boy does it ever show!) may have done much to reinvigorate Miller post-films like Happy Feet.
However, despite the onslaught of Michael Bay style pyrotechnics, Miller still takes the time to give focus to the character dynamics of this rag-tag bunch that’s formed by circumstance. Rather than cardboard cut-outs, each character feels like a fully-fleshed individual via sparse dialogue and taut performances. The script is the definition of “show, don’t tell”, as exposition is kept to an absolute minimum. Perhaps the biggest and most welcome surprise is that Max isn’t even really the star of the show, though Hardy is quite good in the role, as that honor goes to Furiosa. Theron’s shaved head, mechanically-armed warrior may very well be the closest thing we’ve had to a new Ripley, and I think you can easily argue that this is Theron’s Aliens. I doubt she’ll be up for Oscar consideration, as this is the kind of film that voters almost never go for (Sigourney Weaver‘s nomination came when the field for actresses was relatively slim), but I would wholeheartedly support a Best Actress campaign in this case. She’s that good.
This added focus on Furiosa also underscores an important point; it’s one of the most feminist action films in recent memory. Fury Road centers on a group of women taking their own agency and pushing against patriarchal rule. While this franchise has always had an undercurrent of pacifist themes, Miller has laser-focused his message, to a point where one interaction at the midway point of the film ends up stating the obvious: this is what happens when old white men run the world unchecked. That may rankle some feathers in the audience, but this is an action movie that isn’t just empty spectacle or aiming for the lowest common denominator. This is a motion picture that’s actually about something with a strong point of view, and that’s worth standing up and applauding for. It’s basically the film equivalent of an album by The Clash dropping in the middle of a sea of bad arena rock.
Mad Max: Fury Road began filming in 2012, and had to undergo reshoots in 2013 (and this of course follows the 25 years of development hell that the film underwent just to get to there). We often take issue with productions that have to undergo that dreaded process, but Mad Max: Fury Road is a diamond of an exception and proves that as an audience, it behooves us to trust in auteur vision, especially in the action arena which so sorely needs it. Much like Bong Joon-ho‘s Snowpiercer last year, Miller paves the way for what these films should look like and the level of care that needs to go into them. This effort proves that, sometimes, you really can go home again.
To every other movie releasing this Summer: good luck!
I'll be headed to London in a few days for a very quick trip and so, in typical Beth style, I am trying to complete every single task on every single list before I get on that plane. Stupid, I know.
That means that the last few days have been consumed with the writing of the second draft of a commemorative book for a client, the back-and-forthing with an insurance agent, the prepping for a school visit at the Eighth Grade Center @ Springford, the watching of a documentary about graffiti, the blogging about Ismet Prcic's debut novel
Shards, the writing of stories for a client news magazine, the neglect of a few emails I still have to write, the repolishing of my nails, the development of a plan to put my William novel into the world, the forgetting to pick up the dry cleaning, the thinking through of my spring Penn course, the preparation for the upcoming
Jill Lepore lecture at Villanova University (wait, how does one prepare?), the reading of the first two chapters of
The Art of Fielding because it is about time, the cooking of a dinner that could have been better, the reading of a friend's forthcoming novel, the writing of verse for our holiday card, the realization that the roof is leaking again, and the completion of an adult novel that has been in the works for years. I also purchased a few early holiday gifts and made the decision—an emphatic one—that I do not like shopping. No, I do not.
{For those, who, understandably, plan to read no further, please note (see below) that this tongue-in-cheekish list was produced to make a larger point.} In the midst of all of this, I paged through (lightning speed) the December 5 issue of
Newsweek. (Frankly, I still have a lot of questions about this new iteration of
Newsweek, but those questions are for another day.) I stopped at page 61, the Omnivore page, where Diablo Cody and Charlize Theron look out upon the reader. The story is called "The Narcissist Decade," and it's an essay Cody has penned in anticipation of the December 9 release of her film "Young Adult."
"Young Adult," as it turns out, is about a not-very-nice seeming young adult author. Cody tells us: "Mavis's humble peers possess something that eludes her more each year: growth. They've matured into seasoned adults with perspective and humility, while Mavis continues to flail in a self-created hell of reality TV, fashion magazines, blind dates, and booze."
(I sincerely hope that Mavis is not meant as a stand-in for all YA authors. I sincerely hope that. I do.)
In any case, later on in the essay, Cody, whose husband has told her that she shares a number of traits with Mavis (an assertion Cody at first denies), goes on to suggest that perhaps we are all narcissists.
Before you get as offended as I did, allow me to explain. Sure, we're not all deranged homewreckers in pursuit of past glory. But if the era of Facebook and Twitter has fed any monsters, it's those of vanity, self-obsession, and immaturity. Who among us hasn't Googled an ex, or measured our own online social circle against that of a perceived rival, or snapped multiple "profile photos" in an attempt to find the best angle? Who hasn't caught herself watching an episode of "Jersey Shore" and thought, "I'm a grown-up. Why am I con
(VENICE, ITALY) Burn After Reading... The Burning Plain... If the hot films I'm seeing here in Venice are any indication of the direction America is heading, then we could be about to rise from the ashes. I am cautiously optimistic for the future -- not just for the United States, but for the world. Both movies are intelligent, and have great roles for women, but The Burning Plain takes motion pictures to another level in terms of structure.
[Disclosure: I have not been to the movies for years, nor do I read newspapers, nor do I watch television, and I live on an island set 500 years in the past. I just found out who Charlize Theron was last month when someone lent me The Italian Job . So, my opinion is a bit like a caveman's. On the other hand, I did live in Hollywood for most of my adult life, and have a little insight into the Biz. And I know my own journey as a writer, and as a human being, which seems to have coincided neatly with The Burning Plain; I am thinking the same thoughts; I have arrived at similar conclustions. So THAT IS WHY I AM TOTALLY EXCITED AT THE STRUCTURE OF THE BURNING PLAIN!]
Outside, I just ran into Roderick Conway Morris, who writes for the International Herald Tribune, and whom I've known for a long time. I respect Rod's work so much that I based a character in Harley's Ninth on him, and imitated his style in the newspaper article at the end of the book. I always read what Rod writes about the film festival. When I asked him which movie I should see, he replied, "'The Burning Plain. But I imagine you've already seen it." Rod was with his wife, Christina, who also has an excellent mind. We all confessed we were deeply moved.
To read Rod's column at the IHT, click here:
Now, here in the present, once again, I am writing to you from the press room at the Casino. We sit 10 writers around a large table with laptops that the film festival provides; there are 7 tables, so there are 70 writers' brains burning in one big room at the same time... and there are other writers in other rooms with their own laptops, and writers on the stairs and writers, writers everywhere. Then there are filmmakers roaming the area, and producers, and directors, and actors, and production people, and everyone coming and going... and the buzz is... well... we are all deeply moved, and it doesn't matter what country you are from.
Speaking as a novelist... to me, it seemed that Guillermo Arriaga broke through a Time barrier... it is easier to illustrate with film, than with a novel.. having the present, the past, the future, all exist in the present, like life. Arriaga is a screenwriter, of course, and this is his directorial debut. During the press conference he said that "directing the film was the best time I have ever had in my professional life."
THE PRESS CONFERENCE:
The questions were mostly thoughtful and interesting. I don't want to give much of the film away, but I do think I should tell you that some of the same characters are played by different actors at different points in their life -- as young adults and grown ups -- and that... Time is constantly shifting. There are no flashbacks, really, and there is NO NEED FOR THEM! It is seamless.
Other colors Arriaga uses to paint is how our parents' stories leave imprints on our Selves. How we are made of a combination of actual elements: earth, air, fire, water. How we act upon each other with these different elements. How death affects us. How lies affect us. How a life lived based upon a lie is doomed to crash. How the lies and secrets of parents leave deep impressions on the personalities of their children.
Here's my quick notes, mixed with thoughts:
Question to Arriaga: What was your impetus for making the film? How was the story born?
Arriaga: The story was in my head for 15 years. I always had a dream to write a story set in the desert. The landscape has in influence on people. Each story is composed of the four elements: Water. Earth. Air. Fire. (Note from Cat: And it is intense, the elements, especially the Fire and Water.)
Arriaga: It's a story of a woman named Sylvia and her emotional journey. Why people are so damaged.
Question to Charlize Theron: Why do actors like to play flawed people?
Theron: Why are people so flawed? Everyone is flawed to different degrees. There is something very real... why do we watch a film? It moves you. We see ourselves in that moment. Pain... or joy... our condition connects to the moment.
Charlize Theron was asked about producing and acting in the same film. She said it was about creativity. She said she felt she had a natural ability to perform the business side of film. She is fascinated about how film survives; how it struggles, and what it takes to make a good movie. She likes to meet people who are like-minded, and who want to walk the same road. After hearing her speak, I was impressed not only by her beauty, but with her intelligence and strength. She's got it all: talent, beauty, intelligence -- and is incredibly sexy, as well. I admired her gutsy performance.
Someone asked Arriaga about Time; about how he had deconstructed Time; about how the past was mixed with the present; mixed with the future.
Question: What is your personal relationship with time?
Charlize Theron laughed: From someone who doesn't even wear a watch!
Arriaga: We don't live life in a linear way. That is how we live in real life. Cinema is starting to find its own language, its own medium. (I CANNOT TELL YOU HOW EXCITED I AM TO HEAR THIS! For me, it's like a musical score; how you can change Time and remain in the same piece. It is about time we deconstructed Time! All right, I'll try to be quiet and let Arriaga speak:)
Arriaga: We are each inhabited by many people. We are dust. We are our own corpses. We evolve through several beings... what remains of the human being through Time...
The young actress, Jennifer Lawrence, who plays Kim Basinger's daughter was asked how it was to work with Basinger, who was not there. Lawrence said, "Working with Kim was like watching Monet paint a painting. She was smart, nice, gracious and generous. She was there 100 per cent for me -- she even would even be off-camera for me (when an actor who is not on camera acts the lines with another actor instead of having someone just read the lines). I have nothing but great respect for her."
Charlize Theron spoke about Basinger's honesty: Kim has the strength of the age she is now, with the left-over vulnerability of the actress she was in her 20s. There are some moments in the film when her whole body was shaking. You can't manufacture that. You can't act that. You can't fake that. We miss you Kim! We wish you were here!
Anyway, more from Arriaga (and I must paraphrase here). He spoke about how we will never know who we are until we have a relationship with someone -- that we can see our identities by the way we relate to others, and how others relate to us. Every time someone dies, part of our identity is lost. How does that loss affect my identity? In this culture, we refuse death, we run around avoiding death. We must accept that we are fragile and that we are going to die.
Arriaga spoke more about the four elements, and how the human being's relationship with space is what makes the person -- the desert for the sun and the extreme cold, and the non-stop Portland rain -- all the cold, wet, gray affects people's moods.
The young actor, J.D. Pardo, said while shooting, he realized how much that we, human beings, are connected to nature.
Other colors Arriaga uses to paint is how our parents' stories leave imprints on our Selves. How we are made of a combination of actual elements: earth, air, fire, water. How we act upon each other with these different elements. How death affects us. How lies affect us. How a life lived based upon a lie is doomed to crash. How the lies and secrets of parents leave deep impressions on the personalities of their children.
Charlize Theron said that the name of the film was originally The Four Elements. Personally, I think that would have a been a more fitting title. And easier to remember than The Burning Plain.
In any event, the film is truly brilliant, no matter what the title is. Much thanks to Guillermo Arriaga for deconstructing Time for all writers... and for everyone, everywhere.
Ciao from Venice,
Cat
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I’m just going to put this out there:
Disney has used noted cartoonists to design their feature animation films in the past.
Could they please hire Brendan McCarthy for one?
Anyone paying attention during ‘Happy Feet’, with its explicit critique of religious fundamentalism, could hardly expect Miller to keep his female characters washing the dishes.
I hear there’s a ‘Men’s Rights’ website called ‘Return of Kings’ that’s especially butthurt about this movie.
“Kings”? If MRAs were kings they’d be Edward II and Richard III.
Something tells me the movie isn’t really that good. The “feminist” politics is inflating peoples opinion over it. Like the reverse age of ultron or something.
[…] Kyle Pinion von The Beat bezeichnet Mad Max: Fury Road als den feministischen Blockbuster, den wir dringend brauchen. Die weiblichen Figuren präsentieren sich für einen Actionfilm in der Tat […]
This movie has the year’s best trailer, and most of the reviews have been all-out raves. I plan to see it, but I wonder how it will do at the box office. It’s been 30 years since the last Mad Max movie, and a lot of today’s moviegoers weren’t alive when THUNDERDOME came out in ’85.
Pitch Perfect 2 is reportedly clobbering Mad Max at the box office.
Maybe it’s time to cast Anna Kendrick in a superhero movie. Oh, I forgot — Marvel/Disney (and the rest of the movie industry) thinks women can’t open a movie.
Mad Max is still doing pretty well. I’d guess the R rating cut into the potential business. But I’m glad Warner had the guts to release it with an R. Almost every big-budget action movie of the last decade has been PG-13 (even the last couple of Die Hard movies). Large-scale, R-rated action movies were common in the ’80s and ’90s, but have become very rare since then.