Ti West’s “X” trilogy has always been about movies – making them, watching them, starring in them. But none is so connected to Hollywood lore as “MaXXXine.”
West’s third installment comes after both “X” and “Pearl,” but is a direct sequel to that first film, following porn actress Maxine Minx (Mia Goth) as she tries to make a name for herself in 1980s Hollywood. A ways through the film, director Elizabeth Bender (Elizabeth Debicki) takes Maxine – set to star in Bender’s new horror film and still traumatized by the farm massacre she escaped in “X” – on a drive around the studio backlot. Throughout “MaXXXine,” West doesn’t hedge about his love for this era of Hollywood, or the sleazy, hazy glitz of 1980s B movies, but Bender’s monologue as she takes Maxine on a spin starts to pin down the film’s larger ideas.
Read Sammie’s full review on Rough Draft
