Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga
Film
Does George Miller have it in him to make it epic?
I mean, it's kind of a dumb question, right? We know damn well that Miller has the cinematic juice for creations of epic proportions.
But it wasn't posed to Miller in his latest action epic in the Mad Max franchise, Furiosa. Instead, Chris Hemsworth's wildly twisted wasteland warlord, Dementus, asks if Furiosa (Anya Taylor-Joy) has it within her. "It" is the ambition and ability to exact her revenge on Dementus. Vengeance is the key theme across Miller's exploration of Furiosa's origin in Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga. And of course, we know from Mad Max: Fury Road that Furiosa, does, in fact, have it within her to make it epic. As does Miller, once again.
If Fury Road was the high-octane action-adventure original, then Furiosa is its slightly pulled-back, more nuanced ancestor. Whereas Fury Road is a complete pedal-to-the-medal, intricate chase sequence turned into a full film, Furiosa's origin story provides much more storytelling backbone. Establishing a narrative structure broken up into five parts allows Miller to weave more dialogue in, but not much from Furiosa herself who is mute for most of her childhood, and layer the power struggles between Dementus, Furiosa, and Immortan Joe (Lachy Hulme). This triangle of conflict is shown through Furiosa's point of view and while it can be a little slow at times, it's not all glorious car chase into Valhalla after all, it is exceedingly rewarding. Miller and co-writer Nick Lathouris' story beholds a visceral beauty in uncovering Furiosa's motivations, emotions, and everything in between.
Stemming from her capture where she's taken from her mother and the Green Place of Many Mothers to her violently stolen innocence--often shown with the withering of a teddy bear Dementus carries with him-- to the film's triumphant yet meditative finale, we can understand and appreciate so much more of Charlize Theron's depiction in Fury Road. Furiosa plays directly up to the beginning of the 2015 film so it is possible to watch both back to back and really sink your teeth into sweet sweet wasteland vengeance.
I know I've taken some time to mention that Furiosa is not as high-octane as its predecessor but make no mistake, this is still a George Miller Mad Max film. In other words, there is plenty of high-speed action including a phenomenal chase sequence that introduces some new wasteland machinery along with a stupendous supporting character in Praetorian Jack (Tom Burke). Dementus' wasteland biker gang, heralding callbacks to nomadic warlords of history such as Genghis Khan, butting heads with Immortan Joe's legion of War Boys with Furiosa caught in the middle creates gripping tension. The unforgiving violence and landscape of the wasteland yielding to the darker tendencies of human nature. Desires of conquest and killing are ever-present.
And of course the main headlines of Furiosa revolve around Taylor-Joy's lack of dialogue, the same happened with Tom Hardy for Fury Road, but lest you forget that is a feature and not a bug. Miller believes that filmmaking is a visual medium, and his lack of dialogue only furthers his agenda of creating aesthetically appealing movies that move to the beat he establishes. A conductor leading a symphony of action and emotion, Miller effectively recreates the visual identity of Fury Road while building upon his later career penchant for bright colors and kinetic camera work. This is seen in his Mad Max films along with the oft-overlooked Three Thousand Years of Longing through John Seale's cinematography. However, with Furiosa, Miller enlists a new cinematographer in Simon Duggan that does a fantastic job pulling elements from the aforementioned films, while also creating a new style that fits the ethos of this new project. But what's more important than Miller's vision, optically speaking, is his ability to pull the best performances from his actors. Taylor-Joy puts in career-best work in what is one of her most physically demanding roles. But who steals the show is Hemsworth's portrayal of Dementus. We can chalk him up as another post-Marvel actor who finds something deep inside himself for a truly weird and wonderful performance (another example being Mark Ruffalo in Poor Things). I couldn't get enough of his, at times hilariously, weird yet terrifying display of a fragile ego sheltering the same anguish and despair that drives Furiosa's odyssey of revenge.
Endless comparisons to Fury Road are bound to blur the legacy of these two entries in the Mad Max saga. Both gorgeous films of epic proportions will be leveled as "Well, which one is better?" But the matter of the fact is that they are in essence equal, if not impossible to compare. Miller's wasteland and the devolution of humanity are explored in the same way across the films but through different means. One being an elongated and masterful action sequence, and the other being more akin to a Greek epic. A slow, melodic poem of action, love, and anger, all the while being undeniably gripping in every facet. And of course, people will look at the box office numbers and consider Furiosa an economic "failure" because for some reason people chose to go see Chris Pratt voice an animated Garfield, but Furiosa is nothing less than an incredible success. Time will look favorably upon Miller's Mad Max addition, and his continued ability to make it epic.
Froth
As an extension of Fury Road, Furiosa boasts the same greasy energy and vehicular worshipping that defines the wasteland. Machines used to find safety and incite violence just the same, all for the purpose of being welcomed at the gates of Valhalla where everything is shiny and chrome. But here in the dust, the world is nothing but fire and blood. Such dark imagery, no? Given how bitter Furiosa's story is, along with the grease ridden elements of the Mad Max universe, there's not much better suited for such a viewing other than Flying Lion Brewing's Double Black IPA. This pit of darkness is lighter than a stout, which I wanted for the constant motion of Miller's films. You'll need a beer that's lighter such that you're not weighted down by all the commotion. Not to mention the Double Black IPA has a delicious bitterness at the finish that serves to accent the stolen childhood/life of Furiosa, increasing your own level of angst. You'll appreciate Hemsworth's Dementus much more as a villain if your disdain for him is backed up by a bitter taste in your mouth.
But of course its not all darkness and bitters, this brew also has wonderful citrus elements and a stone fruit sweetness that pays homage to those beautiful memories of the Green Place of Many Mothers.
