I'm a big fan of John Cusack, so my disappointment with 'Max' isn't laid at his feet. Cusack is always watchable, but virtually little else was worth watching in a film that strained too much to make of the subject of young Adolf Hitler and his artistic strivings a film full of drama and tension. Tension was absent almost entirely and was replaced with a pseudo-intellectual veneer of third rate comments about Art. The atmosphere of post-war Germany just wasn't created. There was nothing to indicate that it was 1919 or 1929 or any other decade. This may have been a problem of budget but then a filmmaker has to find ways round the budget. Yes, there were some objets d'art from the post-war period but spot the Ikea lamps in Max Rothman's house! As in so many films dealing with 'ideas', there was far too much interaction and not enough action. Contrast, if you will, this film with 'Cabaret'. In the latter there is plenty of interaction but at the very least it is witty, superbly crafted dialogue that hints at much without spelling it out. I also thought Noah Taylor just wasn't convincing as Hitler, though I loved his performance in 'Shine'.
Review of Max
