I think a case could be made that Max is the real hero of this film. He is fully devoted to Nora's illusion — some might say he's an enabler — but he seems to truly love her and care for her, without appearing to get much in return besides room and board. He helps the woman he loves snare another man. He can't enjoy that, but he does it because she wants it, and her happiness is more important to him than his own. Nora's looking after No. 1, for the most part, and so is Joe, but Max isn't. Or is he?
Wednesday, January 03, 2007
Max, darling
I think a case could be made that Max is the real hero of this film. He is fully devoted to Nora's illusion — some might say he's an enabler — but he seems to truly love her and care for her, without appearing to get much in return besides room and board. He helps the woman he loves snare another man. He can't enjoy that, but he does it because she wants it, and her happiness is more important to him than his own. Nora's looking after No. 1, for the most part, and so is Joe, but Max isn't. Or is he?
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
5 comments:
You could answer it yes. In that case, Norma is Max’s greatest creation, and he has dedicated himself to the preservation of his masterpiece, start to finish. But I would read it both ways—he is devoted, but he is also proud.
I'd say a case could be made for it, too. You might think Betty is the moral center of the film, but she was ready to leave her fiance for Joe. Max was the only one to stand by the one he loved.
The photo you added to this post shows something I loved about Max -- how he kept that stiff upper lip throughout the film, even during his revelation to Joe and discoveries at the studio set -- but his emotions gave him away when he realized Norma couldn't be protected anymore.
One thing that did surprise me about Max is that he didn't try to cover up the murder or take the blame for it. Instead he did take the opportunity to give Norma the spotlight one last time.
I thought that was one of the best things about him.
Post a Comment