MaXXXine falls short of Pearl and X, and ends the trilogy in a disappointing way

When Ti West launched X – The Mark of Deathin 2022, no one imagined that this would be the beginning of a successful trilogy, which would go viral on social media due to the protagonist played by Mia Goth. In addition to being talented, the actress had a special connection with Brazil: she is the granddaughter of the Brazilian actress Maria Gladyswhich quickly became a cause for excitement.

In the movie, Goth lives the young and beautiful Maxine and also the elderly woman Pearlowner of the farm where a troupe of actors goes to record a porn film and who, months later, in the same year, saw her story hit the big screen. In the prequel to X – The Mark of Deathwe are introduced to the youth and the beginning of the psychopathy of the title character, who dreams of becoming a movie star.

With the success of the productions, critics and audiences embraced Mia Goth and yours Maxine It is Pearl. The actress, who had already starred in other works, had never been so celebrated in her career as she was then. She went viral, even becoming the print on a t-shirt and the theme of a costume party.

Therefore, great expectations were created for the premiere of MaXXXinepromised by Ti West as the closing of the “X” trilogy, as some call it, despite not having an official title. However, cinema is ungrateful with expectations, for better or for worse. Films are what they are, and what we expect from them is our problem.

The session of MaXXXine for the press, it was out of the ordinary right away: it happened at night, when it is usually held in the morning. Several rooms in the Cinesystem complex – formerly Itaú Cinemas -, in the Frei Caneca Shopping Mall, in São Paulo, were prepared to show one of the most anticipated films of the year. At the end of the screening, I looked at my friend next to me and the frustration was written all over their faces. So, what happened?

I remember well the first time I watched X – The Mark of Death and I remember really liking the way it Ti West pays its own tribute to the slashers from the 70s. It’s the kind of plot that isn’t based on references, even though they’re there, and they’re so subtle that they don’t interfere in any way with the progress of the story. That meme of DiCaprio whistling and pointing at the screen every 5 or 10 minutes doesn’t happen here. The seventies atmosphere is the main focus of the film, as is the sex and brutal deaths.

Here it came Pearlanother unexpected film, now with another type of approach, invested in a period design from the beginning of the last century, although contravening for being more picturesque compared to films from the time when the Hays Code was still valid in Hollywood, but also with sex and brutal deaths as its essence.

The character of Mia Goth She has her sexuality repressed, “has sex” with a scarecrow, throws herself at the cinema projectionist, and resorts to violence when she is contradicted. She was not prepared for the moralism of that time.

One thing you see so much in X – The Mark of Death how much in Pearl is how the puritanism, moralism and conservatism of society were dominant and, as a result, Maxine It is Pearl are fundamental pieces in their times and in their films to counter such aspects.

Sex as a work tool and artistic expression in X – The Mark of Death and dance and desire as an escape from reality in Pearl should amalgamate in the same way in MaXXXinebut this idea dies on the beach in the last chapter of the trilogy.

It’s very strange how the sequel completely stands out from its predecessors. On the one hand, the intention to reference the yellow (the black gloves, the mysterious murders, etc.), on the other hand, the film gets lost in a sea of ​​references, which end up taking away from what the franchise has always had best: its protagonist.

Mia Goth strive and dominate Maxine very well. When she is alone on screen, the film has power. However, when she interacts with the other characters in this new story, things go downhill.

Kevin Bacon (The World After Us) even has an interesting character, but he soon becomes ridiculous. Elizabeth Debicki (Guardians of the Galaxy: Volume 3) is the director of the film for which Maxine Minx is cast. Honestly? It could be any actress there and it wouldn’t make a difference. And the singer Moses Sumney gets a few lines and minutes of screen time, but it doesn’t take long for his fate to be decided.

The detective duo played by Michelle Monaghan (Family Plan) It is Bobby Cannavale (Welcome to the Neighborhood) makes us laugh with the first joke, which is repeated a few more times, but without the same freshness. And Halsey It is Lily Collins (Emily in Paris)? They appear, disappear and are not missed. Even the excellent Giancarlo Esposito (Kaleidoscope) is in a role unworthy of his talent.

In the middle of all this is the Maxine in Mia Gothwho incredibly fails to stand out in the midst of this mess. The character falls far short of what Pearl out in her eponymous film and than the film itself Maxine had already presented in X – The Mark of Death.

For one yellow – I will use this horror subgenre as the main reference for the script -, MaXXXine It uses very little of the style’s elements, playing timidly with them. It is a generic dose of the potential that had already been presented to us before.

But Ti West is not content to limit himself to just one reference. Even a cult film MaXXXine tries to be. At this moment, the story even announces the tragedy into which it would descend, in a third act revealing a plot twist which, if not predictable for some, leaves the mediocrity of the script’s ideas clear. If the filmmaker claims to have used Hardcore – In the Underworld of Sexfrom 1979, a great film by Paul Schraderas a reference for this subtext, this is another thing that remained just an intention.

There are many problems in MaXXXine: it wants to be too much and ends up not being able to accomplish almost anything; the protagonist who does not drive the narrative, but is led by it; the disposable supporting characters; and the sex, so present in the previous films, here is null. But perhaps the biggest problem of all is the way in which the villain materializes, the so-called Night Stalkera reference to the serial killer that really existed and was responsible for the deaths of 13 people in the 1980s in Los Angeles and San Francisco.

Is it worth a comparison? In Malignant, James Wan can pay homage and play with the yellow by presenting a killer who really distresses and terrifies us, even though we know it’s all fiction. Now Ti West does not have the same effect on its story with a killer inspired by someone who really existed! His murders arrive without fanfare or impact. It is a film that needs a villain, but when he is revealed, it becomes pathetic.

In short, MaXXXine It is a film without personality and without courage. For some, it is the so-called “curse of the third film”, which we have already seen happen with Spider-Man 3, Iron Man 3, X-Men: The Last Stand, Scream 3, Matrix Revolutions and so many others. The list is huge.

In its final chapter, MaXXXine lost what Pearl It is X – The Mark of Death had the best: the excitement. What was left was the frustration of what the production could have been and the feeling that Ti West surrendered to the puritanism that he had previously fought so hard against. Unfortunately, this star did not shine.

What was the best movie of 2024 so far? Vote for your favorite!

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• MaXXXine