MaXXXine Review
MaXXXine (2024) Film Review, a movie written and directed by Ti West and starring Mia Goth, Kevin Bacon, Elizabeth Debicki, Giancarlo Esposito, Moses Sumney, Daniel Lench, Simon Prast, Bobby Cannavale, Lily Collins, Charley Rowan McCain, Chloe Farnworth, Brad Swanick, Susan Pingleton, Zachary Mooren, Sophie Thatcher, Halsey and Michelle Monaghan.
A24 gave Ti West the opportunity of a lifetime when they allowed him to unleash his creative side. After his brilliant horror film, X, and his perfectly acted prequel, Pearl, West completes a unique trilogy with the 1980’s- themed thriller, MaXXXine. Mia Goth delivered what may have been the performance of her lifetime in Pearl so when she gets to let loose in MaXXXine and just have fun, it is well-deserved. Goth’s turn in the new picture is nothing short of entertaining but Goth is not delivering the powerhouse performance she delivered the last time out in this new picture. There are also pacing issues with MaXXXine that hold it back from greatness. Still, this ode to Hollywood is clever and suspenseful throughout.
Goth portrays Maxine Minx, a porn star in L.A. who is going into horror movies. As she makes the transition from one “genre” to another, a serial killer called The Night Stalker is said to be at large which complicates the city’s inhabitants’ lives. Maxine always wanted to be famous and she confidently tells the filmmakers that she knows the lines when it comes time to perform her audition for a central part in a new horror film.
Kevin Bacon plays a private investigator named John Labat who is on the tail of Maxine for some particular noteworthy reason. Bacon has a good time in one of the lesser roles of his prestigious career. This is not a role Bacon is playing for an Oscar nod. He’s got that smarmy personality down pat as he tries to trick Maxine into falling into his manipulative traps. One scene has John chasing Maxine to a house on a movie set that immediately recalls the Norman Bates house from the Psycho films. Security luckily shows up and indirectly points John away from Maxine who is trying to figure out if John is just a pain in the ass or if he is, indeed, the Night Stalker.
There is much humor to be found within. A scene has Bacon’s character chasing Maxine into a bathroom. The toilets in each bathroom stall are worse than the previous toilet. These toilets are stuffed with paper and, in some cases, bloody and, in all cases, yucky and gross. The best sense of humor West displays comes from Maxine cutting drugs with a Screen Actors Guild card towards the end. Talk about pure genius at hand.
The serial killer subplot is interesting but the movie steers off track at times. This film runs in a million different directions with everything from an ambitious horror director, Elizabeth Bender (Elizabeth Debicki) who seems to be on Maxine’s side to a pair of cops, played with style by Michelle Monaghan and Bobby Cannavale. These officers could be investigating something other than the case of the Night Stalker, though, as audiences will figure out as the plot develops.
There are a few surprises here and there. A key character gets crushed in his car thanks to Maxine and some shady guys who come to her aid. Though Maxine wants to be protected from those she suspects are creeps, she can still handle herself pretty well until the movie ties her up at the end and turns her into an unwilling victim of a cult leader. I’ve said too much, though.
The soundtrack employs old songs which move the action along at a slow but steady pace. The ending chooses to use “Bette Davis Eyes” as the music of choice to represent the themes the picture tackles. The supporting cast is utilized well but Lily Collins seems particularly wasted in her short role as do a few other performers like the great Giancarlo Esposito who appears briefly but not too memorably here.
MaXXXine traces its lead character through her paces until she comes to a crossroads where she figures out a mystery in the picture and tries to get to the bottom of it. She places her own life in jeopardy at least a couple of times. While some of the scenes in this movie come across as amateurish, the production values essentially capture the essence of the time period the film is set in. The movie takes us back to a less pure time when there were peep shows and serial killers and the like. Goth gets the scenes she’s in right but the picture doesn’t let her zero in on her terrific acting abilities like her powerful monologue in Pearl proved she has.
It’s also noteworthy to mention that MaXXXine doesn’t have as many horrific elements present in the plot. Creepy story lines were so prevalent (and in plain view) in West’s unpredictable sequences found in the franchise’s two predecessors to this picture. Goth gets help carrying the latest movie from a supporting cast filled with veteran performers. If West got more mainstream this time out than usual, it would be certainly understandable because the projects that have come out of A24 lately can be less profitable than a film like this. West leaves nothing to chance and ties up many of the new movie’s loose ends by the time the credits roll, turning the movie into something of a crowd-pleaser.
Maxine confronts a man who tries to attack her early on while other interesting minor characters appear as well throughout the movie. However, West often seems to under-develop so many potentially interesting stars’ characters. X is a far better film than MaXXXine and Pearl is even better than it because Goth acted up a perfect storm in that picture. Goth is good in the third picture and the new movie has a few tricks up its sleeve at the end but the 1980’s vibe really works best for the tone of the movie, overall.
MaXXXine stands as a moderately successful final outing to a franchise that hasn’t always been great (even though the first film, X, was pretty much perfect) but has maintained audience interest throughout several years’ time. Maxine has a gun in one late, pivotal part of the picture which is pointed at the main bad guy here. The outcome of the late scenes in the film is less-than-stellar but still enjoyable.
The only way Maxine really wants to stand out is by being true to her own self. She may want to be famous but the fact that the movie eventually gives her that fame is proof that Hollywood endings need to be employed to assure a film series is financially successful. MaXXXine could have ended several ways and probably finishes in a fashion that is as mainstream as conclusions come. That’s Hollywood for you– both then and now.
Rating: 7/10
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