Close Viewing: Max and Furiosa's Developing Relationship through Dialogue

Currently, we are studying the film Mad Max, Fury Road, by director George Miller, as the piece used in our close viewing. I have worked with Molly to create this paragraph describing Max and Furiosa's developing relationship through dialogue with the support of makeup and the corroboration of trust formed in the previous scene. 

In Mad Max, Fury Road, director George Miller uses dialogue to effectively show how Max and Furiosa’s relationship has developed over the course of the film. In the scene where Furiosa drives the War Rig on the final stretch, Max wakes up after a traumatic nightmare, while the wives sleep and Nux protectively holds Capable. Furiosa’s dialogue, “It’s okay. Sleep. Get some rest.” shows how Director George Miller uses the aspect of dialogue to effectively show the development of their relationship. Through the undertones of affection in her speech, Miller shows how Furiosa and Max have bonded through their journey of survival. Specifically, dialogue is used to show the audience how Furiosa has come to trust Max and had become concerned over him and his wellbeing. Prior to this scene, the audience sees how the characters, Max and Furiosa, have been uncertain of each other - due to the circumstances of their meeting. The lack of dialogue between the characters makes this interaction significant to the audience, as beforehand, this degree of communication was saved for life-threatening circumstances. This minor interaction created by George Miller means that the audience can understand the degree of trust that the two characters now shared. The development of their relationship is complemented by Furiosa’s make-up - in particular, the oil smeared on her forehead and around her eyes. In life-threatening situations prior to this scene, Furiosa has applied the oil to her face, showing how she is putting on a mask to create emotional distance from what she is doing. During their conversation, the brighter scene allows us to notice how the oil has faded. Furiosa’s mask has faded as well, she is emotionally exposing herself to Max by showing her concern over him. This concern Furiosa has for Max has been created as they learn to trust each other. We see the amalgamation of this trust shown in the previous scene where Max concedes that Furiosa is a better shot. However, Furiosa still chooses to lean on Max for help, figuratively and literally. This shows how the pair have come to connect and trust in life or death situations. The connection between the scenes is significant because while the pair trust each other with survival, it is another thing to care for one another. Furiosa’s expression of concern shows how their relationship has developed beyond needing each other to survive to wanting each other to survive.