Max - Movie Review

Max tells the story of Max Rothman, possibly the last man standing between the Adolf Hitler that could have been and the Adolf Hitler that history has shown us. Max Rothman is an art dealer living in Germany, having recently returned from the trenches of World War I where he lost his right arm in battle.


During the evening of an art show, Max encounters a scrawny, nervous young man who says he is an artist. Max looks at his portfolio and sees potential, but no passion. He asks the young man if he could paint some more, tapping deeper into his sub-conscious to unleash this fragile passion. The young man agrees. Max asks his name – Adolf Hitler, the man replies.

At this time, Corporal Adolf Hitler has also just returned from fighting in the First World War, but where Max returned to family and wealth, Hitler returned to and empty bunk. He has no family, no home, and the only money he earns is from the German army which he claims is the only reason he remains with them – they pay his expenses. However, where Max sees an inspiring artist, the German army – namely Captain Mayr - sees someone whose true artistic grace is politics; to sway the minds of people with his voice instead of a paintbrush.

Thus, in order to earn more money, Hitler decides to follow orders and begins orating for the German Army, crying out against the Jews even though Hitler admits to admiring them for keeping their blood pure; fornicating and marrying only within their own race, and praising them for being hard workers all the while baring his true convictions to Max Rothman who keeps trying to convince Hitler to continue painting, even buying pieces on consignment out of pity.

Max Rothman is one of John Cusack’s better performances, because he has always been a good, popular actor but never one that has been considered an Oscar contender. That’s never stopped him from being one of my personal all-time favorites, but this time he steps further outside of himself more than he normally does. Noah Taylor (Almost Famous, Vanilla Sky) does an excellent job as a young, querulous Adolf Hitler; though he may not have the complete physical look of the man he does execute well the mannerisms and verbal tirades that the world is familiar with.

Max is a small film that, like most fact-based films, changes truth and manipulates history to better serve the Hollywood story. But it is a movie that challenges ideals – friendship and war, passion and complacency. Max and Hitler are polar opposites whose only common link is art. Max is a confident free spirit who is willing to bend the rules of marriage with a mistress while Hitler is an insecure cynic on the verge of an emotional breakdown with the drop of a single tree leaf, and despite Max Rothman’s best attempts we all know that the leaf indeed did fall, breaking the artist and creating the monster.