Martin Scorsese Absolutely Loves MaXXXine

Originally posted on Men's Journal | By Griff Griffin | Last updated Jul 9, 2024 2:30 PM ET

Martin Scorsese is loving MaXXXine so much he’s written a mini review filled with praise.

In a letter to a journalist from The New York Times, Scorsese called MaXXXine director Ti West’s crime thriller “bold and thoroughly cinematic.”

Each film in the trilogy, Scorsese says, represents a “different type of horror, related to different eras in American moviemaking.” These are “three linked stories set within three different moments in movie culture, reflecting back on the greater culture.”

The first film in the trilogy, X, released in 2022, and takes place in the ‘70s. The second, Pearl, launched later in the year, and is set in the ‘50s. MaXXXine, released July 2024, happens in the ‘80s, and seems to be Scorsese’s favourite.

MaXXXine, he says, is “‘80s Hollywood, rancid, desperate." And he should know - Scorsese has directed his share of tonally similar movies, with Taxi Driver and Mean Streets springing to mind.

The film is the most profitable in the trilogy. With a three-day opening weekend total of $6.7 million at the domestic box office, MaXXXine has grossed more than one-and-a-half times the opening weekend of X, which made $4.3 million.

MaXXXine is dividing people, however. In the MaXXXine first reviews, critics say it’s “a whirlwind joy ride” but has “nothing interesting to say.”

This article first appeared on Men's Journal and was syndicated with permission.

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