If Mad Max: Fury Road taught us anything it’s that action doesn’t have to be separate from story, it can actually propel the story. That said, there are plenty of other scenes I would rather hear director George Miller discuss than the one chosen here for “New York Times'” Anatomy of a Scene feature.
Last night, in fact, I was discussing one scene (SPOILERS COMING) in particular with a fellow Seattle based critic when I mentioned the final scene featuring Rosie Huntington-Whiteley‘s character. It’s is not only thrilling and tense as Whiteley’s Splendid hangs from the side of the War Rig, but it’s a scene that shows Immortan Joe’s (Hugh Keays-Byrne) fear for her safety as well as further bolsters Max’s (Tom Hardy) personality and humanizes him a little more when he gives her the thumbs up after she manages to hang on.
Then (SPOILERS CONTINUE), of course, she ultimately slips and falls, crushed by the wheels of Joe’s vehicle, stopping the action. It’s a death that carries a multitude of emotions as the blood that cause Splendid to slip was from the wound Max gave her (and it clearly affects him), Furiosa (Charlize Theron) and the “wives” are distraught over her death, initially urging him to stop the vehicle and we’re witness to Joe’s agony. This one moment does all this while also allowing Miller to stop the action for a beat and then further ramp up the tension once it gets started again. It’s a mathematical equation of complexity in terms of storytelling and action direction, allowing for a ton of non-stop action, but action with purpose. Absolutely excellent.
*SPOILERS END*
That said, below are Miller’s comments over the excellent fight sequence between Max and Furiosa with Nux getting in on the action toward the end. If anything, the moment I love from this scene is the shot of Charlize Theron in the background just before she body slams Max to the ground. That, and the glimmer of sunlight behind the trigger just before Furiosa learns Max’s shotgun is empty.
I’ve included both the scene with commentary and the scene without commentary below. This scene also had some of Junkie XL’s best work on the film’s score if you ask me.
Now here’s to hoping the Blu-ray release includes an audio commentary.
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