The question of any human aspect of Adolf Hitler (as opposed to a simple demonized portrayal) is a difficult and controversial one, and Max is to be applauded for making a serious attempt. Sadly, its success does not go much beyond scratching the surface or paving the way for a better film along similar lines. Max Rothman (played by John Cusack) is a well to do art dealer (and Jew) who befriends an embittered young artist called Adolf Hitler. Even given that the general outcome of the story will be well-known, the film lacks any feeling of authenticity (the mixture of British and American accents and mannerisms hardly convince us we are in 1920s Germany) and, although there is some intellectual appeal in the cursory examination of the relationship between art and politics, there is nothing to allow us to leave the cinema feeling satisfied. 'Max' needed an experienced director who could bring the story, period and characters alive rather than simply intone them on celluloid, and perhaps a scriptwriter who could more eloquently engage us on the merits and flaws of philosophers of the time such as Nitschke as well as the strengths and weaknesses of the popular 'pure blood' ideas that are apparent in Aryanism but also in Jewish culture. The film attempts to move beyond the simplistic portrayals of the evils of Hitler and the martyr-glory of the Jews, but it fails to supply a rigorous analysis of the roots of anti-Semitism or to realistically explain the appeal and success of the Nazi movement. Worst of all, the film ends just as we might be vainly hoping that it would live up to its promises.
Review of Max
