| Written by John Shea,
on 28-10-2003 05:50
|
Published in : Reviews, Movies |
The subject of Adolf Hitler is always a touchy one. The mere mention of the man can make people uneasy, so trying to make a movie about him that takes more than a superficial look at him is headed for trouble. So many died and suffered as a result that rational thought jumps out the window when discussing him. The fear is that a movie will be too soft on Hitler, granting him some measure of respect or sympathy, when none is deserved.
The movie Max neatly sidesteps all that debate with a fictional story that focuses on Hitler years before he would come to power. It considers that Hitler wanted to be an artist and frames his struggle to achieve that with a debate of abstract versus traditional art. A young Hitler could be seen as a happy inspired individual who made some unfortunate choices but not here. There is no need for concern as the Hitler portrayed here is a thoroughly unpleasant fellow, rude, neurotic, hateful and sickly. His high intensity humorless diatribes and lack of social grace quickly sour him on most everyone's good graces. He isn't a genocidal maniac, yet, but you definitely don't want to spend much time with him.
The film shows the period of time shortly after World War I. Germany is in shambles as a result of the war. The Treaty of Versailles has just been signed and it leaves an unbearable financial debt and national shame on the country. Hitler (Noah Taylor) returns home as a corporal with absolutely nothing. He thinks of himself as an artist but he hasn't sold anything. Doing an odd job he comes into contact with art dealer Max Rothman (John Cusack), who takes an odd fascination with Hitler. Rothman fought in the war too and it cost him an arm. But he comes from a wealthy Jewish family and thus comes back to a home and starts a business. He sees the passion and strange moralities churning around inside the young corporal and tries to get him to focus it on his painting.
Hitler is caught between his deep desire to be an artist and his rage at having nothing. While Rothman is pushing him to use that to be a better artist elements within the army are driving him towards politics and public speaking. Initially, he is poor at both painting and speaking, but it is obvious that his great passion will take him far on one of those paths. Knowing history makes this all somewhat discomforting, to think that one of history's worst butchers could instead have simply been an artist, just because he might have listened to better career advice. Kind of makes you think twice about your high school guidance counselor, doesn't it?
This is a story of how war affects two wildly different people. The backdrop of history gives the story greater weight as we suspect we are seeing the seeds of Nazi Germany being laid. The film stops long before the events that we're all too familiar with but that doesn't mean the film lets Hitler off easily as just a misguided young man. In one scene he shows how deeply his anti-semitism runs, saying the Jews aren't a personal problem but instead a problem for the government to deal with like for instance the disposal of garbage. We can also see his superiors in the army feeding his rage and nudging him in a certain direction. The film wants to make it clear that teaching hatred young makes it stronger with time.
While intriguing, this by no means a perfect film. Pacing is highly uneven. Scenes featuring Hitler and Rothman together practically crackle with energy, as if wanting to leap off the screen and shake the audience awake. But when the scene focuses on only one of them, particularly Rothman, the film screeches to a halt. The intent is to help contrast their lives, thus giving more clarity to the society that shaped Hitler, but Rothman simply isn't given much to do at these times and it quickly becomes tedious. The scenes of Hitler alone are more tolerable in that same creepy way that people slow down to look at car wrecks. We know something awful is happening here and so we can't look away, no matter how disturbing it is.
Great performances are necessary to make the film work and both Cusack and Taylor deliver. While Taylor bears only superficial resemblance to Hitler, it doesn't matter as he inhabits the character so completely that the audience is too enthralled with his actions to consider appearance. He swirls incessantly between ego, depression, rage, confusion and inflexible moralist. Watching him give a speech where Hitler starts to discover his oratory style is simply creepy. Taylor's performance is simply explosive. Cusack gives his character a double face. One is the clown who delights in finding ways to get under people's skin with his jokes and pranks. The other side is a melancholy sadness at what he has lost. It seems the two characters drift together because they see in each other what they have lost and hope somehow to reclaim it through proximity to the other.
This film is not for everyone. Some, who may not be able to take an objective step back from the subject matter, will almost certainly hate the film, believing to be granting too much humanity to Hitler. But acknowledging he was a human and not some demon is how we can understand better how he came to power. Without that knowledge we run the risk of repeating the mistakes that led to Hitler's rule. Sometimes knowledge is found when taking an honest look at the most unpleasant of things. For those with that courage, here is a highly rewarding film that offers insight into a historic figure most would rather forget.
- John Shea
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