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Max

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Max (2002)

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Reviews Counted:110

Fresh:76

Rotten:34

Average Rating:6.4/10

Consensus: Well-acted in the execution of its provocative "what-if?" premise.

Rated: R [See Full Rating] for language

Runtime: 1 hr 48 mins

Genre: Dramas

Theatrical Release:Dec 27, 2002 Limited

Box Office: $215,134

Synopsis: Munich,1918: In a world reeling from World War One and the shock of the new, everyone's mind is on the future. It is a time of high-octane debate and dreams of drastic change, a time when the lines... Munich,1918: In a world reeling from World War One and the shock of the new, everyone's mind is on the future. It is a time of high-octane debate and dreams of drastic change, a time when the lines between art, politics and personal beliefs have been blurred beyond reckoning. The only question that remains is this: now what? In what direction will things turn next?

For Max Rothman (JOHN CUSACK), a soldier just returned from the Great War, the present has certainly turned out radically different from what he imagined. He returned from the war, one of the walking wounded, a damaged man trying to sort out his life. Once a promising artist, he lost his right arm and with it, his ability to paint. Yet the future still draws Max like a magnet, fueled by the restlessness, typified by the birth of modernism. Now, he opens up what quickly becomes an acclaimed art gallery. Also caught in the Post-War struggle are his beautiful wife (MOLLY PARKER) and children, a once picturesque family, now torn by uncertainty and Max's infatuation with his alluring artistic mistress (LEELEE SOBIESKI).

But then, at a celebratory party for the opening of his new show, Max meets another man interested in the future: a fellow war veteran and aspiring painter, a man with no family, no home and no friends. His name: Adolf Hitler (NOAH TAYLOR), and his decision to transfer his creative talents to politics, where at last he finds an outlet for his raw beliefs, sets into motion the most catastrophic period of the 20th century.

From Oscar-nominated screenwriter Menno Meyjes ("The Color Purple") comes MAX, a story of two unlikely friends facing an uncertain future and one's fateful decision to embrace a nightmare vision of evil. Deeply unsettling, defiantly humorous and ultimately, tragically moving, MAX is more historical fable than straight-ahead historical drama -- a tale that careens through art, politics, love, hope, intolerance, obsession and destructive malevolence to provide an original and intimate portrait of a major turning point in modern history.

MAX is the directorial debut of Menno Meyjes, who also wrote the screenplay. The film is produced by Andras Hamori ("Sunshine," "The Sweet Hereafter," "existenz").

"Meyjes mostly wanted Max Rothman to exist in a kind of state of timelessness - to look, sound and feel as if he could exist just as easily in the 21st century, as if his idealism and energy could be part of today's culture…"

-- © 2002 Lions Gate Films [More]

Starring: John Cusack, Noah Taylor, Leelee Sobieski, Molly Parker

Starring: John Cusack, Noah Taylor, Leelee Sobieski, Molly Parker, Ulrich Thomsen, David Horovitch, Janet Suzman, Kevin McKidd

Director: Menno Meyjes

Director: Menno Meyjes
Screenwriter: Menno Meyjes
Producer: Andras Hamori
Composer: Dan Jones
Studio: Lions Gate Films

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Release:

May 20, 2003

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Reviews for Max

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1 - 20 (sorted by date)
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N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Variety | comment Comment
12/10/08
Todd McCarthy
Todd McCarthy
Variety
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Empire Magazine | comment Comment
12/30/06
Empire Magazine
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Time Out | comment Comment
06/24/06
Derek Adams
Derek Adams
Time Out

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Film Threat | comment Comment
12/06/05
Film Threat

Any film as provocative and nervy as this one is bound to generate controversy...

Full Review Source: Arkansas Democrat-Gazette | comment Comment
01/29/05
Philip Martin
Philip Martin
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

Meyjes divides our attentions between the two major players, failing to take us far enough into either character's heart.

Full Review Source: Looking Closer | comment Comment
12/06/04
Jeffrey Overstreet
Jeffrey Overstreet
Looking Closer

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: tonymedley.com | comment Comment
10/07/04
Tony Medley
Tony Medley
tonymedley.com
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Minneapolis Star Tribune | comment Comment
05/19/04
Jeff Strickler
Jeff Strickler
Minneapolis Star Tribune
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
N/R

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Full Review Source: Guardian [UK] | comment Comment
07/08/03
Guardian [UK]
N/R

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Full Review Source: Boston Phoenix | comment Comment
07/02/03
Boston Phoenix

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Full Review Source: ViewLondon | comment Comment
06/21/03
Matthew Turner
Matthew Turner
ViewLondon

Max is also an intimate portrait of modern art; of the birth of the expressionist movement and great artists. . .

Full Review Source: FilmStew.com | comment Comment
06/05/03
Susan Michals
Susan Michals
FilmStew.com

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: BBC | comment Comment
05/30/03
Jamie Russell
Jamie Russell
BBC

a brave film, showing Hitler as a pathetic cog in a larger machine hurtling inevitably towards the Holocaust.

Full Review Source: Killer Movie Reviews | comment Comment
04/05/03
Andrea Chase
Andrea Chase
Killer Movie Reviews

I'd have thought it was impossible to overdo the role of Hitler, but Noah Taylor does just that in Max.

Full Review Source: St. Paul Pioneer Press | comment Comment
03/28/03
Chris Hewitt (St. Paul)
Chris Hewitt (St. Paul)
St. Paul Pioneer Press

The film is torn between playing [Taylor's] character for real and as a dangerous joke.

Full Review Source: Boston Globe | comment Comment
03/21/03
Ty Burr
Ty Burr
Boston Globe
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Meyjes focuses too much on Max when he should be filling the screen with this tortured, dull artist and monster-in-the- making.

Full Review Source: Austin Chronicle | comment Comment
03/10/03
Marc Savlov
Marc Savlov
Austin Chronicle

Taylor, hawk-faced and gaunt, pours everything into his portrayal of Hitler, never once seeking our sympathy for this angry, homeless loner.

Full Review Source: Seattle Times | comment Comment
03/07/03
Moira MacDonald
Moira MacDonald
Seattle Times

Max has precious little sting as a morality tale or punch as a parable about the relationship of art to politics.

Full Review Source: Seattle Post-Intelligencer | comment Comment
03/06/03
William Arnold
William Arnold
Seattle Post-Intelligencer

A fascinating and engrossing film.

Full Review Source: Premiere Magazine | comment Comment
03/04/03
Glenn Kenny
Glenn Kenny
Premiere Magazine
 
 
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Latest News for Max

April 20, 2005: Cusack and Peet Have a Favorite "Martian"
Described by The Hollywood Reporter as "a cross between E.T. and Parenthood" is the upcoming family film "The Martian Child." John Cusack ("High... More...

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