What MaXXXine and the X Trilogy Says About the Toxicity of Hollywood
Words: James Punshon
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“I’m a starrrr!” – three words that have made an indissoluble stamp on the current zeitgeist of popular meme culture. The phrase (iconically misinterpreted as “Emma Stone” said with an Aussie accent) became the defining sentiment of Ti West’s manic farmhouse horror Pearl (2022) but in MaXXXine (2024), West hurls his starlet right into the eye of the storm – 1980s Hollywood. If you’re not clued in already (or you’ve been living under a rock) – over the course of a mere two years, director Ti West has rolled out a decade-hopping slasher trilogy – and his latest instalment, MaXXXine, caps off the series in a coked-up frenzy combining Psycho (1960), stardom and satanic panic.
Mia Goth’s volcanic performance as the eponymous Maxine/Pearl has certified the actress as the scream queen of a generation – but to label the X trilogy as just another exploration of feminine rage and obsession would almost pigeonhole it completely. Tales of Tinseltown, from All About Eve (1951) to Showgirls (1995), and the rise to fame often paint actors - particularly women - as crazed individuals, willing to do whatever it takes to be seen in the spotlight. But, pointedly, it’s the circumstances surrounding these characters that pave them on such a savage path to the top. After all, as Maxine’s mantra goes, would you accept a life you do not deserve?
But let’s go back to Ti West’s first entry into the X trilogy. Taking place in the desolate terrains of 1979 Texas, X (2022) follows a group of porn filmmakers who are slowly picked off by geriatric landowner Pearl (whose farmhouse they are staying in). Unlike the next two instalments, here our representation of the industry is told in retrospect, through the lens of a once starry-eyed actress who never got her shot at fame. As a standalone piece, Pearl’s motives seem a lot muddier in X, but given context, it’s evident that her killing spree is a manifestation of her failed dreams.
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The jaded movie star trope has often served as a brutal reminder of the negative impact of celebrity: in Whatever Happened to Baby Jane (1962) we follow Jane (played by Bette Davis) a former child star who cares for her wheel-chair bound sister Blanche. Rotting away in their old Hollywood mansion – Jane is hellbent on a second shot at fame and devises a plan to get rid of her sister. The difference between the movies, released 60 years apart, is that Pearl was never a star – she resents the youthfulness of the porn crew and commits these graphic outbursts in an act of longing for what could have been. Yet both Baby Jane and X represent the aching question of what’s left for the dreamers once their reality sets in.
In the prequel origin story to X, Pearl (2022) winds the clock back to 1918, following a young Pearl’s solitary existence on her family ranch. She leads a quiet life, living under the rule of her mother’s iron thumb – but Pearl’s desire to make it big in the pictures soon grows stronger than her need to conform to mundanity. Although Pearl plays more like a textbook descent into madness à la Black Swan (2011), the kill count here represents our character overcoming obstacles in her path to Hollywood glory. Initially she murders the projectionist (David Corenswet) after he suddenly grows cold on whisking her away to fame and glory. Pearl exclaims “I’m not staying on this farm. Nothing’s gonna keep me here”. She then proceeds to murder her mother and father consecutively. And despite all of her sacrifice, the young wannabe is denied the role at the pivotal audition central to the story’s plot. An important distinction between Pearl and most slasher villains is a sense of justifiable rage - despite giving her all to the process, she is still not good enough to make the cut. Above all else, Pearl’s murders denote the toxic work ethic of showbiz; the cliched sentiment that one must remove themselves of any form of emotional baggage in the pursuit of success.
“The violence in MaXXXine appears more like self-preservation, Maxine is intent on building a new life for herself and only resorts to violence as a means of career survival.”
Comparably, in MaXXXine, the star lies at the precipice of her big break: the leading role in a new horror B-movie – but everything hangs in the balance as PI Kevin Bacon threatens to uncover her violent past. MaXXXine drives home the narratives introduced in Pearl and X in the titular character’s relentless quest to stardom. The director of the film (Elizabeth Debicki) recognises Maxine’s wavering commitment to the project and reminds her “This is the defining role of your career. Whatever’s going on in your life that’s interfering with this picture…squash it”. And so she does (literally), with the aid of her agent (Giancarlo Esposito) - Bacon meets his demise under a massive hydraulic press.
The violence in MaXXXine appears more like self-preservation, Maxine is intent on building a new life for herself and only resorts to violence as a means of career survival. From her opening audition alone, we know she is replaceable - the star walks past a long line of other women rocking the same crimped, blonde hair. Still, Maxine tells them all to go home as she “fucking killed it”, demonstrating the type of unyielding self-confidence that will secure her place under the spotlight.
The X series isn’t really about delusions of grandeur but more a study of our purist of fame as some divine concept. In MaXXXine, West rounds out the trilogy with a stylish melting pot of Hollywood iconography. Maxine finally leads the life Pearl only ever dreamed of, but now she’s seemingly made it to the top, she must do everything in her power to stay there. As proven, the journey to stardom is unrelenting – West argues fame only comes with great sacrifice.
