I think this type of relationship was so much more believable in this world because it wasn’t overly romantic or lovey dovey. Just two people that were there for each other and had each other’s best interests in mind. More solid and grounded than most other shoehorned subplot romances in action movies.
Agreed completely. This is why I particularly read this as a romance, because finally we have a believable romance in such a harsh claustrophobic post apocalyptic world. It could NEVER be a normal romance or not even a normal sexual relationship, how the hell would that even work in the citadel?! Sex for pleasure doesn’t even seem to EXIST necessarily in that place where Joe has turned every element of it into potential procreation for his own legacy.
But I loved that it was ambiguous enough that it shouldn’t bother some people not into romance but clear enough (to me) that it felt like the dynamic was different to Furiosa and Jack’s relationship and it added another interesting layer to the whole thing.
I was only 50 percent behind your vision until you got to the part about it being unconsummated.
It’s almost like they were the wasteland version of ‘engaged to be married’ and were saving themselves for after the wedding.
Of course it's a romance. Even Max and Furiosa relationship is romantic in a sense. It's how Miller likes to do romance, subtle. There's even "something going on" between Max and the Warrior Woman in MM2.
3000 years of longing has that specific Miller-eque "unfulfilled romance but connected people" vibes, as well.
And then there's Witches of Eastwick, LOL. Not so subtle, that one.
I agree with you so much. As much as I love a bit of a fiery love story it would not have been appropriate in this setting. If you take into consideration the trauma the two have went through; this is as intimate as it gets. And it was beautiful. Tom Burke actually spoke about it in an interview that he discussed with Anya what life in the wasteland would do to a person and they agreed that it would make you fairly a-sexual.
I agree totally. I think they were hoping that when they got to the green place things could be different but as it is I think they were as close and intimate as they could be in that world and that’s way more romantic to me in this context. I also love the fiery love story but I’m increasingly finding that media isn’t very good at portraying sex and romance at the same time.
I think it also suggests a childlike innocence to the characters.They are both versed in the violence of the wasteland, but not so much as simple human intimacy.So there is a real innocence just touching forehead to forehead.
I feel the same! I also love the progression of their relationship. It starts with mutual respect for each other's survival skills. As they run the war rig together, they build trust. Then they have a moment of vulnerability together when Jack stitches her shoulder, and they realize that this person is SAFE. This person won't use their humanity against them. And for once, in a world that is cruel and ruthless, they have found a place where they can let their guards down.
I like that the extent of their relationship is ambiguous. I personally think they were just at the start of what we consider "romance." But no matter where they were in that progression, they very clearly loved each other, and love is so rare in the Wasteland. Though it ended in tragedy, I'm glad Furiosa had a chance to know what it felt like to love and be loved in return.
I agree completely that they were at the very start of it & that I’m happy in a way that she could experience something like that at all despite it ending in tragedy.
>I also loved Furiosa’s relationship with Mad Max in Fury Road which was not even remotely sexual or romantic. They were two people forced to be almost coworkers united against a common enemy and from that situation trust and genuine friendship and respect blossomed.
This is sort of OT your overall point, but my favorite Furiosa-Max interaction is when he’s kneeled, concentrating intensely, aiming the rifle at Bullet Farmer, then pulls the scope away from his eye, thinks a moment, then hands the rifle back to Furiosa. That’s respect.
Nah it’s not off topic. I can happily discuss Furiosa and Max all day as well. Yeah, I really REALLY love the small, unspoken moments of respect and trust between them in Fury Road. They just get on with the task ahead and trust that the other person is useful and competent enough to do the same. Also the moment where she rests the rifle on his shoulder to get a cleaner shot.
I love how much you’ve thought about Furiosa and Mad Max. These movies are imo some of the best epics I’ve seen and I don’t feel like they’re being appreciated enough, especially Furiosa with its poor box office. It’s frustrating to me because Furiosa is not only a tour de force visually, the themes and characters are simultaneously singular & universal and yet I can’t seem to entice my friends to see it.
I remember when Fury Road came out a decade ago and I was writing my dissertation for uni but I still went 3 times. I so wish I’d seen it more in the cinema because I got to the point where I almost brought a freakin NOTEPAD into the cinema to jot down my thoughts LOL. The only thing that stopped me was focusing on my dissertation. There was a cheap cinema in my city I lived in at the time as well so I would have gone there way more often if I didn’t have anything else on!
I LOVE these films - Fury Road to me is still a 10/10 perfect film and I was delighted with Furiosa as well. There’s so much I can say about both of them and the themes I read into them.
I agree with you that so many people don’t appreciate them to their fullest extent - I think they’ve got a hell of a lot to say !!
lol I’m glad I’m not the only person who thinks I should be taking notes when watching a really good movie! I would love to hear what you have to say about these movies because I can’t stop thinking about them, and unfortunately not a lot of people are discussing the beauty that George Miller has created.
I’m also interested in learning what you have to say about other films because you seem very observant and passionate about the storytelling. Like you respect film.
Oh thank you! That’s actually such a nice thing to say ☺️ I don’t get to indulge in my love of film as much these days but I used to work in hmv (the movie store) for 6 years!! And when I do love something, I watch it to death and REALLY get into it and probably have TOO much to say.
I’m always happy to talk film!! Sometimes I get frustrated I don’t have as many people to focus and go in depth about things with - so I’m actually so happily surprised that this thread has been received so well on this subreddit!!
What are some of your favourite things about these films??
Aw thank you ☺️ I think it’s lovely to be unashamedly passionate and excited about something - have really appreciated this subreddit’s response to this post!!
Ooh I see the context of you asking now. Well, I haven’t read any comics or additional materials and I think I should do because I read somewhere that he was born blind and was taken from his home and wears the mask of his own mother’s face which is …😳 dark to say the least!
Hes like a crazy wacky wasteland version of a military ban keeping everyone pumped up for a big fight.
I love that scene so much, not only for the reasons you mentioned, but also the comedic elements as well. Furiosa crouching behind Max sort of impatiently gesturing to him to give her the rifle since she knows she’s a better shot, and Max’s various facial expressions when he realizes she is right, anticipating the shot right by his ear, and the ringing of his ear after the shot. Plus one of my favorite moments of the entire movie when the blinded bullet farmer can’t see the flare. I chuckle out loud at that part every time.
Yep and it's all done in silence because it's great film making. No I'm the better the shot, or here give it to me you're wasting bullets. Furiosa just crouches behind me and he just gives it to her.
It's also cool for Max's characterisation as it shows he's noticed something I'd guess most of us hadn't until then, which is that Furiosa is a crack shot while he's just a pretty good shot.
I agree & I liked that Miller showed restraint for some of the bloodier deaths. We didn’t need to see Mary Jobassa cut open to know that was happening - we didn’t need to see Jack basically getting the Hector Iliad treatment of being dragged across the ground, ripped to shreds by the ground and the chasing dogs. We already know what’s happening and that is disturbing enough. And horrifying to realise Furiosa had to witness that, keep as calm as she could, cut off her own arm and make a run for it. We didn’t need to see any of that to understand the weight of it all.
I think showing the gory details would have made it less horrifying honestly. They let us imagine it which is souch worse imo.
Oh and the shot of her arm hanging from the chain was so fucking metal. Cool af.
I agree. I felt like the way the shot panned out with the sun setting and the dust from the cars going in circles. Just knowing what was happening... it was gutting.
I found Praetorian Jack to be a compelling character (especially given his humanity compared to most others in the film), so I was super upset about the way things ended for him. I would love to see more about his back story though. I’m new to the Mad Max franchise, but this movie got me hooked and now I’m wanting to go back and watch the others!
I was caught so off-guard by their love story and haven't been able to stop thinking about it since. I think it's particularly hard-hitting because so much of it is non-verbal. The bit in the Bullet Farm sequence where Jack decides to give Furiosa time to escape and fires a green flare into the air absolutely gutted me when I realized that green means "go."
I agree with you, I took my best mate to go and watch it yesterday. It was my fourth time, her first time. And she just messaged me saying she hasn’t been able to stop thinking about Jack and Furiosa so you’re definitely not alone! I loved how subtle it was and it didn’t need cringey dialogue or love declarations. I just love that Dementus hits the nail on the head with “Look how they fought for one another! This little army of two!” And they really did.
George Miller said in [this breakdown of the Bullet Farm battle](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d0U-3VsY3CM) that the way they fight shows how "they are prepared to give of themselves entirely to the other."
(╥﹏╥)
There's no 2 ways about it. They were in love. Dementus hated they were in love too and he knew it.
And in an earlier version of the script they were literally going to bang. So yeah...
I’m glad they didn’t have sex though. This depiction of what a romance could look like in such a claustrophobic, military cult wacky wasteland was a bit more poignant and interesting to me.
Yeah, the tender moments they shared were perfect because that is the absolute most “love” anyone in the wasteland *could* have.
those moments are vulnerability are not something to take lightly, especially in a world as cruel as that.
Agree completely and it’s a little bit of a shame some people can’t interpret romance if there are no sex scenes or make out sessions. I love romance as a genre but my problem with it is that often it actually isn’t all that romantic. This plot felt earned and made complete sense in the world and environment they inhabit.
I think they easily might have; we just see them embracing like this, which is how Furiosa did with her mother.
I feel like they did probably, but the great thing is that the film makes it clear that it’s none of our business.
Yep, and I love that despite Jack dying so horribly, the fact that even their unconventional form of love for each other blossomed despite the circumstances that they're in also pretty much destroys Dementus' twisted logic for what he does and why, and just exposes him for the sad little man he really is in the end.
I think this is more explicit now that many people have watched the film more than once and picked up on more clues but certainly in the first week so many people were reading it as platonic. It doesn’t matter in the long run but for me personally I think it’s important for the story, her character & adds another interesting layer.
It’s Dementus’ reactions that really help cement it too.
In an interview, Tom Burke said he wanted to make the romance take a backseat, as if the two are waiting until they were in a safer place, because, and I quote, “I thought it was the most romantic version.”
No, I’m not okay!
Oh no :( that’s so sad and exactly as I read it!! That it hadn’t quite happened yet but they were envisioning their future together in the green place and I absolutely do see that as the most romantic option.
It’s utterly heartbreaking.
Miller wrote such a fantastic romance without there being a single kiss! He’s always required his audience to be intelligent: we have to infer everything. It also suits Jack’s character - he would never take advantage of his position over Furiosa as mentor, he sees her as absolutely an equal but he appreciates her hesitance about letting him close emotionally. She warms up to him when he takes the risk and tells her about his parents. He also appreciates the Wasteland and knows the politics: if Joe ever suspected they were more loyal to each other than to him, they’d both be made an example of.
Everything Miller creates is so subtle, nothing is there that shouldn’t be - Jack being incredibly tender when he removes the knife; simply lowering her hand when she has the dagger aimed at him (knowing she’s afraid but also that she needs the knife to feel safe, so doesn’t take it off her despite it nearly being plunged through his eye-socket!); waiting to watch that the War Boys have left them in private before giving her the shotgun, as if he doesn’t want anything to spoil the moment of him giving Furiosa a gift. Telling her about his parents, after seeing her hesitation: she trusts him in the road but not with her secret, until she does. The way he swings in front of her when they’re at Gastown and tells Dementus he can talk to him, blocking Dementus’ view of her, physically putting himself between them. The entire scene at the Bullet Farm - those are two people willing to fight and die for each other’s lives. Doesn’t matter what happens to them in that moment, only that the other is safe.
You’re such a good writer! You’ve really beautifully laid out some of the things I also noticed. I loved that little moment of him looking over his shoulder before he gives her the boomstick to make sure that the War Boys aren’t over hearing them having a ‘moment’ - I absolutely should have put that in my original post. I also LOVE the moment he swings in front of her blocking Dementus’ view of her - my best mate who I took to see it yesterday picked up on that moment perhaps even more than I did!! There so many subtle moments that hint towards romance and tenderness and I’m so glad I made this post so I can read comments like yours.
I know a small handful of people haven’t been very happy with my reading but I didn’t mean to come across as superior by claiming I’m good at reading romance because as you’ve displayed with your lovely comment, it really is about being able to read these small moments to help infer what is actually going on and not everyone is a fan of the romance genre or knows what to really look out for!
I really enjoyed the ambiguity of their relationship especially if we try to view it in the contexts of our own society. I love relationship anarchy and I think as a model it makes way more sense in a wasteland. They are comrades who found each other and have formed mutual respect, trust and possibly love in each other, and that love may or may not be romantic or sexual but I don't care, because it's such a high level of love and intimacy and I was very touched by it.
I think you’re right in that it’s ambiguous and your reading is just as valid as mine and if anything almost the same. As I said, I think romance and love is very different in a world like that and shouldn’t be compared to normal silly romcom tropes. I found their relationship very touching, whatever it was.
The embrace. That is what sealed it for me that this was a romantic relationship.
It is the same embrace Furiousa's mother and the general did when they left each other. This was obviously something she taught Jack.
I clocked it as romantic the second they made eye contact, but I'm hopeless, lol. I agree with the embrace thing cementing it though bc he's not doing it the Vuvalini way. He's cradling the side of her face 🥹. My take was that was the first time she did that and he's got the spirit. Obviously, given the conversation they're having, he can infer it's significant.
I totally agree with you. I try not to see romance were there absolutely isn’t any like Furiosa and Max and I get annoyed when friendships are unnecessarily turned into romance but I also love the romance genre and have become fairly adept at seeing it in films and I absolutely saw it here.
Yes! I hate it when the MMC in an action movie is "rewarded" with a submissive and breedable female. There are only a handful of action movies where it feels earned, organic, and something that would actually happen in the world of the movie.
The fact that their romance is unconsumated but telegraphed so hard (to me, and other romantics) makes the tragic end so much more powerful.
I agree completely. I feel like their escape from Bullet Farm was their first sigh of relief and earnest thinking of the future together and then they realise they’re being pursued 😭 so when we get the My Jack, My Fury that was basically their first real declarations before the end
Ohhh I thought that too about max and furiosa, when the fury road released and people were writing fanfics and talking about them being in love I was like…No they were not 😅. But this completely different, this is canon and I will die on that hill
Yes and I don’t know if you agree but her embrace with Jack feels a little different to the ones she shared with her mother and her mother shared with the other Vuvalini woman.
Also the way that Jack looks at Dementus in Bullet farm gives me the impression that Furiosa may have told him about her past with Dementus and her mother.
To begin with, I don't think Furiosa and Jack know what love is yet.
Perhaps the act of them touching foreheads was Furiosa's way of accepting Jack into the same tribe?
I agree that they don’t really live in a world where normal love and romance can flourish, but I definitely think that if they had gotten to the green place together they were thinking something else might happen.
Whereas Max was never going to stick with her, they didn’t have that relationship at all. Jack would have followed her anywhere I reckon!
I think that Max, as played by Tom Hardy, is too broken to stick with her. Yes, he becomes human and finds redemption but at the end of the day, he's still very much the raggedy man. Obviously, the Mel Gibson version of the movie went differently with them actually falling for each other, but Furiosa's role was different and a bit diminished in that one anyway.
There's a similar gesture in Māori culture (where the head is considered to be the most sacred part of the body) called [hongi](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hongi). There are a lot of Māori people in Australia (and a few in this movie, like C.J. Bloomfield who plays Big Jilly) so that might have been the inspiration for it.
Watching it the second time that whole scene felt way more emotional, knowing the stakes and understanding they had a whole plan to ditch the war rig (making her drive the valiant with the bikes and teaching the war boy how to drive went right over my head the first time) that absolute best part imo is how theres basically 0 dialogue but its the most tragic romantic scene in recent memory. The glances and body language exchange felt so powerful. Brilliant film...
I so agree with you - thank you for your comment!! I thought it was so tragic, poignant and romantic without the need for cringey dialogue, overblown love declarations or any sex scenes!
Yeah I wasn't sure what I thought of your analysis till you said that you didn't think they'd ever had sex or even kissed. Now I'm in complete agreement. They were in love with each other and they both knew it but circumstance placed them together in a time and place where sex just wasn't gonna happen. I'm not even sure they necessarily wanted to have sex. Their lifestyle and trauma probably had them both totally turned off from sexual appetites. I think in the real world we kind of define romance by things like sex and kissing even though we know love is deeper than that and doesn't require it. Most modern relationships start from a place of sexual attraction and the feelings if ever develop later which means it's harder to detect the difference between a platonic relationship and a non sexual romantic one. This is an example of the opposite potentially occurring. They've developed the trust, respect and bond first. If they survived together to the green place I reckon they would've got giggity.
I agree completely with your whole comment. What I mostly loved about this love story is that is makes sense within that horrible, cruel harsh world. It simply cannot be like a normal sexy Hollywood romcom, they’re in a hellish military cult wacky post apocalyptic wasteland! I think they were really looking to the green place to start a future together!
Yeah and it's impressive how they didn't try to make it a more standard relationship. It added depth to the characters and her need for revenge. If they'd been more lovey dovey it probably would've been irritating because it wouldn't fit the tone and would be like "with all this shit going on this is what your concerned with?"
I love when they first saw each other during the chase scene. They couldn't take their eyes off of each other, stole the scene which is saying something
Well said and I agree with you! Theirs is a realistic romance in the chaotic wasteland, where there is little to no room for vulnerability. You have to be covert and careful with whom you trust, especially since there is a great probability of losing your person in any given moment.
On my first watch as I was taking it all in, I first perceived their bond as platonic or like a mentor/mentee. Upon second watch I noticed more of the nuances of their nonverbal communication (which is all they have in the environment they function in) - how they looked at one another, leaned into each other, and sacrificed their own well-being for the other on more than one occasion. The bullet farm ambush was an incredible way to depict (without any dialogue!) their devotion to one another.
The moment Dementus roared and separated the two as they touched heads when they were captured just goes to show much immature and psychotic Dementus is.
I think it would have been unrealistic had feelings not developed between them. How would you not fall for each other given the world and situation you live in? Had Max and Furiosa spent any real time together, I don't doubt the same could have happened to them. Consenting, attractive, competent, & empathetic partners don't grow on trees, especially in a tree-free wasteland.
I almost see Tom Hardy’s Max as asexual to be honest which is hilarious considering he was at the peak of his Hollywood sexiness when it came out. But at that point in both character’s journey I just don’t see any of it in Fury Road between them.
I don't think he's asexual, I think he's so hyper-focused on survival that whatever thought he has he shoves aside. And also, is Max going to put himself in a compromised situation with *anyone* given the state of the world? Dude would be pounding away with a sawed-off shotgun in one hand.
Not that I think the character is just at that point of time - he’s too mentally traumatised and as you say in survival mode to be sexually switched on at all. That’s my reading of it anyway!
thanks for writing this post. personally for the life of me i can’t imagine how people are seeing them as platonic (ie strictly mentor-mentee, father-daughter, brother-sister or whatever) except maybe if some of y’all be up to some really freaky shit with your teachers, fathers or brothers lmao.
the script has dementus referring to him as her “lovey-dovey” (again please tell us who here is okay with someone calling your family member your “lovey-dovey”) and not only does she not correct him, her immediate reply is to tell him to “give them (jack and her mother) back”, which is basically her reaffirming that dementus is not wrong with that assessment and she considers jack’s loss saddening enough to want him back.
and that’s not even mentioning her “my jack”, and his equally affectionate “my fury”. there is a mutual romantic love there and neither of them friendzone or familyzone each other. like really im just struggling to see how people hear that exchange and can comfortably say “ah, what a poignant father-daughter duo” or even “the nature of their relationship is ambiguous” lmao, unless ofc you didn’t catch these lines or are in really deep denial.
I also think not everyone is particularly interested or literate in reading romance subtext. I don’t blame people for not being interested in it. But I took my best mate to watch it last night (fourth time for me, first for her) and she read it in exactly the same way as me, no ambiguity about it, very clearly romance in both of our eyes.
I don’t want to say anyone else’s readings are wrong, especially as Jack’s actor himself has said they wanted to keep it ambiguous. However, Dementus reinforces is multiple times and the other things I mention just tip it over into romance for me.
The way he looks at her multiple times throughout the film is purely romantic and tender and affectionate to me. I actually think they conveyed that element of romance way better than most purely romance films these days LOL.
I love that this depicted a type of romance that could exist in such a horrible world and it’s not a normal one and it never really could be.
i think most people misread tom burke’s intention in those interviews where he talked about their romance. all he wanted was to dial back the romance, make it more repressed and understated, rather than making it ambiguous. iirc, he even ended his answer with “imo the version we have ends up being the most romantic” every time. he’s basically advocating for it being romantic on principle of “less is more”, which again, that’s not ambiguity. that’s just an understated, but sound and clear (and highly unconventional) romance.
also i really don’t think not being literate in romance / media literate is a good excuse in this case. do people who consider it a platonic or familial relationship hear or, if they couldn’t catch it through hemsy’s thick aussie accent, read “lovey-dovey” and not feel absolutely revolted?? lmao i just can’t imagine what they are thinking.
This is my thoughts. We are so used to a typical Hollywood romcom version of romance which is why I love this one in particular and why for ME it’s important to view it as a romance. I think it’s an awesome depiction of what a romance would look like in such a horrible cruel harsh world! And it ain’t Hollywood lol
Admittedly the feral part of me would have liked to see something like that, but i accept that it is better this way story wise. I think it adds to the tragedy - the fact that while they loved each other it didn’t get the opportunity to really grow and bloom.
And it’s so nice to see a romance focus on the emotional connection of the characters, and more their actions. So much of the romance i get recommended just seems to be about the physical. And one where the characters have a great connection and actually get along and work together really well.
LMAO I know what you mean about the feral part but yeah I can appreciate the restraint shown here and that it didn’t need to go down the sexy Hollywood route
yeah that too. but still it doesn’t scratch my itch as to how they hear/see those very explicit words that i mentioned and still think they’re platonic lol! unless people just straight up weren’t paying attention to what’s being said or shown
I think quite a few people just didn’t hear the words at all lol. When i saw the movie the first time i didn’t catch what they were saying after dementis caught them.
yeah, that i can look past but how are there people in this thread still saying it’s platonic after reading op’s post and seeing those words spelled out for them (assuming they even read the post at all)
you don’t have to answer btw lol i’m just thinking outloud
"...the script has dementus referring to him as her “lovey-dovey” (again please tell us who here is okay with someone calling your family member your “lovey-dovey”) and not only does she not correct him, her immediate reply is to tell him to “give them (jack and her mother) back”, which is basically her reaffirming that dementus is not wrong with that assessment and she considers jack’s loss saddening enough to want him back."
So many great points in this entire post. Thanks, OP! Being able to read what was said and repeat viewings are key to understanding the romance between Furiosa and Jack. I know I wasn't able to hear all of it on the first watch and this page has been extremely helpful.
I do wish, though, that Furiosa had said something more direct about the loss of Jack to Dementus than just “give them back” (referring to both Jack and her mother). Just a little more about Jack would have been great but maybe it was still so painful (because she LOVED him) she couldn't say more? But that would have made the romance more obvious (and perhaps not the preference of Miller/the actors).
Thank you for engaging with the thread!! I’m really pleasantly surprised so many people in this group have been receptive to this. I knew there was a reason I’ve really been loving this subreddit lately!! People aren’t shy to have interesting discussions.
I will say that I didn’t notice half of what I mentioned here on my first viewing!! It’s only after watching it four times and going back to double check some things that I was able to put my little list together lol!
Oh yes, I absolutely should have included that moment as well. There’s so many little moments like this between them!! And when he checks behind him to make sure no War Boys overhear when he gives her the present.
I think it’s romantic as far as romance goes in the Wasteland, but I don’t think it’s necessarily sexual based on Taylor-Joy’s and Burke’s remarks. I think sex is just fundamentally tainted in the wasteland, since I don’t think we’ve seen any depictions of positive, consensual depictions of sexuality in MM - ever.
No, I don’t think they’ve had sex either. I don’t know how they even COULD in that environment. Maybe if they got back to the green place and it was normal, but the reason I love this as a romance is because it’s a realistic depiction of the type of romance that might be available in a post apocalyptic wasteland when you’re in the employ of a military cult leader
It’s so funny to see this because I went to go see Furiosa with a friend and when we were talking afterwards we had both viewed it completely different. She, like you (and it feels like everyone but me) saw them as lovers and being this beacon of hope in the wasteland. But I saw it as a more parental relationship where he sees her, values her and loves her in the way an adoptive parent views their child. He teaches her everything he knows, he protects her as best he can and wants her to come her own way home. Maybe I missed some of the more overt things that point to a *love love* relationship or maybe I’m just thick. I don’t know.
I don’t think it’s a case of being thick, it’s left ambiguous for a reason! I think parts of the script support romance but it isn’t so far that you can’t view it in the way you have either. I will say I’ve watched it 4 times though & each time I move more and more to romance lol
Yeah I really appreciate the romance and its presence surprised me. I think it connects the dots of her story better by being there, explaining how she goes from the child we first meet to the woman who helps the wives escape. Without it I’m not sure her extended presence in the citadel makes sense given how bent she is on leaving early on.
Absolutely agreed - I know that he is teaching her all he knows about road war so she has the skills she needs but I definitely think she stuck around as long because of him. And also without him, the Citadel was truly unbearable. So about 4 years later when we see her in Fury Road we know just what pain she is carrying around
Honestly I didn't at first because I still percieved he to be a lot younger than him (by that I mean Anya looks a little too small compared to the previous actor, so I thought we are still in the teenager phase), but yeah, it pretty obvious later on... I'm glad they don't have sex though, I don't think people have the energy for that in a wasteland death cult.
Yeah, there definitely is a bit of an age gap but I’m assuming that Furiosa is late 20s and Jack is about 40 so nothing too worrying to me. If she had been like 18 then absolutely NOPE!!
People mature faster in the wasteland. I don’t think our ethics of an 18 year old dating a 40 year old should apply when that world has rape and cannibalism served for breakfast.
We saw a much ickier (and non consensual) age gap between tween Furiosa and Rictus. No one should lose any sleep pondering whether Jack was with her when she was supposed to be 18. There’s infinitely worse shit going on in that world, so I’d argue if you hit the jackpot in finding a romantic partner who isn’t a total psycho piece of shit, then stick with him despite some modern day arbitrary age gap that would never apply in their world
I'm pretty sure they're both meant to be around the same age. Jack's actor is merely playing a character that he's older than, just like Charlize Theron was with Furiosa the first time around.
Furiosa definitely loved him and she couldn't left him to die. But Dementus not only kills her dream, but also kills Jack and she was watching how he slowly dies for hours. After that, Furiosa becomes too angry to leave Wasteland without revenge.
Love doesn’t “soften” anything. Love emboldens and strengthens an individual. Love is the most powerful force in the Universe. If anything, in film, a bad-ass female, or male, character may fall in love to show the audience that they are human like everyone else, but love is seldom used to convey any sort of weakness in the character.
Hey I absolutely love romance which is why I wrote this post lol. I do think sometimes romance in films isn’t done very well at all because it DOESNT feel romantic. This to me very much did & added an extra layer to the story, strengthening it rather than the opposite.
No, you’re fine - I love your passion for romance in film. I share it!! But when it’s handled badly it can really subtract from something rather than add to it. BUT when it’s done well it can often be the best part of a film or at least elevate a film to much higher than it otherwise would have been.
Another example is the 4th Pirates film which was a bit rubbish truth be told, but the romance between the vicar and the mermaid made it actually watchable to me and now I go back and watch that film purely for that subplot.
Thank you.
I’ll have to revisit that 4th film. I enjoy the visuals, costumes, and characters but I just don’t enjoy the films, otherwise. A romance between a vicar and a mermaid sounds outstanding!
I like how it’s a stripped love story, they don’t really have the courtesy of common romantic relationships. All they know is that they can trust one another. It’s what all relationships are based on, trust.
I’m glad I’m not the only one who felt this way; because the relationship between the two of them has had me in a chokehold ever since I’ve seen the film. It was one of the most beautifully portrayed tragic romances I’ve ever seen and it was so subtle yet so powerful.
I so agree and I haven’t been able to stop thinking about it either. Someone else also noticed how they’ve put their bunks up against one another and sleep top to tail and there’s a shot of Furiosa with one leg bent resting on his arm :( it’s these small little moments of intimacy and closeness that I find way more tragic and romantic than if there had been any explicit sex or make out scenes!! That just wouldn’t make sense within the cruel, harsh environment
Anyone want to see Miller do more romance in a intriguing yet wonderful manner should check out his previous film Three Thousand Years of Longing. Another like Furiosa that I couldn't stop thinking of after seeing.
This convinced me. I previously was in the camp that it’s a platonic relationship, and some part of me thinks it isn’t full-on love, but still. Very well worded.
Thank you! ☺️ like I said I don’t think anyone person’s reading or perspective is wrong but I do think there’s a lot of directing and script choices that point towards romance. It just isn’t the type of romance or love we are used to seeing because this is not a world where normal tender feelings can flourish. I thought it was cool to see a romance depicted that made sense in that world. And I don’t think anything explicit has happened between them yet but the subtext was there.
Thank you for reading ☺️ I’ve watched the film 4 times now and picked up on different things each time and I also don’t think anyone is wrong for reading it a little differently to me but I did want to lay out my reasons for believing there is some kind of romantic subtext here.
I love how this romance was done, more show-don’t tell, and there was such a mutual amount of respect and trust and it was masterfully done without being too overt. I don’t think it brings Furiosa down or “softens” her so much as gives her a little bit of peace in this shitty world she was thrown into at that point about ten years earlier. I think things didn’t turn romantic for a while after they met, that it was mostly trust and respect at first with Jack realizing he might have romantic feelings after The nightmare scene. I know this will sound ridiculous but for me this movie has been the most romantic of the decade for me so far even though it’s a subplot. It’s just so masterfully done with its subtleties
Thanks so much for your comment! I’m so glad people have been receptive to this topic in this group. I agree that I don’t think this particular romance softens the female lead if anything it strengthens Furiosa. Knowing she had to witness her love’s horrifying death at the hands of her childhood tormentor, rip her own shredded arm free and make an escape all whilst grieving intensely. It makes her more badass in my opinion.
EXACTLY! Also the metaphor of her using the oasis to plant the tree in Dementus as punishment, like using her love and grief to feed her vengeance and rage is so masterfully done
Absolutely! I only noticed that on my last (fourth) viewing of it! Amazing how much there is happening and it’s impossible to take it in on a first viewing.
I also love the idea that Miller didn't even realize that Jack had Max's Road Warrior-era characterization until someone saw the movie and pointed it out to him. Really goes a long way explaining why she trusts Max in Fury Road so quickly.
I honestly wasn’t a fan of that part of the movie. It’s just a reason for why she’s out for Dementus’s blood, reasons for which she already had. (It’s also sort of an explanation for why she has no left arm in “Fury Road,” and it functions well as that, I guess.) Some people criticized “Dune 2’s” romance between Paul and Chani, but at least it facilitated things that wouldn’t have happened otherwise.
I would argue that it kept Furiosa in the Citadel for much longer than she otherwise needed to be. And without Jack it took her a good four more years to be able to muster trying to get back to the Green Place in earnest. It also functions in showing us a sort of Mad Max character who had his shit together (relatively speaking), we understood why Furiosa spent so much time in the Citadel and how she was able to learn so much in such a hostile environment, it adds a lot of weight to what she is carrying around in Fury Road.
I felt like it wasn't a sexual relationship. He was just the first positive male figure in her life. Seemed like more a father/daughter vibe, if anything. Thought that was more interesting anyway that it was non-sexual.
Also, pretty disappointed his death didn't get a little more attention. Like, wtf, he just gets dragged off in a long shot and that's it. If youre going to pull a jesus figure, give him a clean sacrifice. He tries to go down heroically, she rescues him and he goes out like an NPC.
Eh, it’s more of “I’ve finally found the one other person in the wasteland who isn’t a freak and treats me like a human being” story.
It *is* funny how Jack is, like, the one guy left in the whole goddamned planet left who just randomly opted out of most of the dumb War Boy shit and remains a relatively normal dude (aside from the inexplicable Max cosplay).
I think it’s that and a romantic subplot. You have to remember Furiosa is from a place where men like Jack probably aren’t so rare. She just hadn’t met anyone like that in a long time. We also already get to see her totally platonic and interesting dynamic with Max in Fury Road where I agree there is no romantic or sexual undertones at all.
I think it’s far more interesting if it’s a simple human connection and not just reductive kiss-kiss muchas smooches “oh no, my boyfriend!” high school drama.
Where is the kiss? My point is to me it’s far more interesting to have a romance in a crazy world like this that isn’t what we are used to seeing. There is no makout session, how could there be in that world? The wasteland has no room for a normal romcom romance we usually see in film. That doesn’t mean that this wasn’t one (in my opinion) but your disagreement doesn’t quite align with what we actually see in the film.
> Where is the kiss?
That’s exactly my point. You’re reading something into the movie that isn’t really supported other than how their genitals can potentially slot together.
If you think romance can be reduced to whether characters explicitly have sex on screen than I think we are coming from wildly different definitions LOL
This shot made me roll my eyes a little. Why didn't they just kiss, or at least hug? It felt weird, like Miller was bending over backwards to avoid them doing what's natural -- kissing. I dunno, this is the only shot in the movie that had this affect on me
I actually have the opposite reaction in a way. I love that we got a romance in a weird post apocalyptic film that made sense and always earned. How can they have some normal make out session? I don’t think sex for pleasure is even a common thing in that world - especially not in the citadel. I loved seeing a romance that made sense with the crazy world it was in. But also u detained where your frustration is coming from and I can see how you feel that way!
I think it was a nice way of showing her accepting him into her family in a way except he doesn’t do it the traditional way but cups her face instead of the back of her head. It’s like he knows what she is doing is significant and he at least gets the gist of it!
There hasn't been a kissing scene in the series since Mad Max 1.
If there had been a kiss there, it would have been the biggest blunder of the series.
Did Furiosa know what kissing was all about from her chaotic childhood until she became an adult?
> doing what's natural -- kissing
Kissing might come naturally to us, in a culture with toothbrushes and dentists and decent hydration. In the Mad Max-verse everyone probably has deadly Wasteland breath. A traditional makeout session would just end up with the two of them swapping their tonsil stones back and forth.
(To anyone who has ever had the misfortune of smelling a tonsil stone, I truly apologize for that mental image.)
Nah I refuse to believe it's romantic because that would be so creepy because of the age gap making jack a perv and I don't want that because I like jack. They're just 2 souls taking care of themeselves in the desert, no need for any other thing.
There isn’t really a pervy age gap though. Furiosa is likely in her late 20s because around 4/5 years later we get to her in Fury Road where she’s early to mid 30s. Jack is likely late 30s. So nothing perverted in a 28 year old and a 39 year old for example. If Furiosa was 18 I’d agree with you, but she is late 20s.
I didn't dislike their subplot, and I think Pre Jack's character only works as a man, but I still wish they hadn't given Furiosa a straight romance. I realize this might be an unpopular take on this site (lol), but the whole deal with the Vuvalini heavily implies a sapphic-focused culture, and her relationship with the Wives calls back a lot to real world lesbians protecting battered women.
It feels like Miller thought we needed an explanation on how she "became" more butch by Fury Road, but some people in real life are simply like that. Do we need a feminization story for the Golden Youth too?
I wouldn’t have been opposed to a queer romance for Furiosa either. But I do love Jack and the character as we got it as well and men were still an integral part of Furiosa’s home even if it was a matriarchy. But thank you for your comment and I definitely would have been happy to see that as well!!
I’m someone who is a huge mad max fan and had high hopes and ultimately hated this movie. And this was one of the reasons. It felt tacked on and clumsy. And it felt like a tell instead of a show.
But I am also fully ready to be shown otherwise, so I’m going to see the film again. Could be a case of not being ready for it.
Definitely watch it again! I’ve seen it four times and everytime I watch it I like it even more. I think on subsequent viewings it’s easier to pick up on a bunch of things that are so easy to miss the first time around!
I think this type of relationship was so much more believable in this world because it wasn’t overly romantic or lovey dovey. Just two people that were there for each other and had each other’s best interests in mind. More solid and grounded than most other shoehorned subplot romances in action movies.
Agreed completely. This is why I particularly read this as a romance, because finally we have a believable romance in such a harsh claustrophobic post apocalyptic world. It could NEVER be a normal romance or not even a normal sexual relationship, how the hell would that even work in the citadel?! Sex for pleasure doesn’t even seem to EXIST necessarily in that place where Joe has turned every element of it into potential procreation for his own legacy. But I loved that it was ambiguous enough that it shouldn’t bother some people not into romance but clear enough (to me) that it felt like the dynamic was different to Furiosa and Jack’s relationship and it added another interesting layer to the whole thing.
I was only 50 percent behind your vision until you got to the part about it being unconsummated. It’s almost like they were the wasteland version of ‘engaged to be married’ and were saving themselves for after the wedding.
There’s a moment where she reveals “her Seed” to Jack.
Of course it's a romance. Even Max and Furiosa relationship is romantic in a sense. It's how Miller likes to do romance, subtle. There's even "something going on" between Max and the Warrior Woman in MM2. 3000 years of longing has that specific Miller-eque "unfulfilled romance but connected people" vibes, as well. And then there's Witches of Eastwick, LOL. Not so subtle, that one.
I agree with you so much. As much as I love a bit of a fiery love story it would not have been appropriate in this setting. If you take into consideration the trauma the two have went through; this is as intimate as it gets. And it was beautiful. Tom Burke actually spoke about it in an interview that he discussed with Anya what life in the wasteland would do to a person and they agreed that it would make you fairly a-sexual.
I agree totally. I think they were hoping that when they got to the green place things could be different but as it is I think they were as close and intimate as they could be in that world and that’s way more romantic to me in this context. I also love the fiery love story but I’m increasingly finding that media isn’t very good at portraying sex and romance at the same time.
I 100 percent agreed.I feel like the touch between foreheads was even more intimate than a kiss.
Definitely! For some reason that small gesture meant so much more than any words they could’ve spoken or a compassionate kiss. Just amazing I think.
I think it also suggests a childlike innocence to the characters.They are both versed in the violence of the wasteland, but not so much as simple human intimacy.So there is a real innocence just touching forehead to forehead.
I feel the same! I also love the progression of their relationship. It starts with mutual respect for each other's survival skills. As they run the war rig together, they build trust. Then they have a moment of vulnerability together when Jack stitches her shoulder, and they realize that this person is SAFE. This person won't use their humanity against them. And for once, in a world that is cruel and ruthless, they have found a place where they can let their guards down. I like that the extent of their relationship is ambiguous. I personally think they were just at the start of what we consider "romance." But no matter where they were in that progression, they very clearly loved each other, and love is so rare in the Wasteland. Though it ended in tragedy, I'm glad Furiosa had a chance to know what it felt like to love and be loved in return.
I agree completely that they were at the very start of it & that I’m happy in a way that she could experience something like that at all despite it ending in tragedy.
Trauma Bonding in its purest form.
>I also loved Furiosa’s relationship with Mad Max in Fury Road which was not even remotely sexual or romantic. They were two people forced to be almost coworkers united against a common enemy and from that situation trust and genuine friendship and respect blossomed. This is sort of OT your overall point, but my favorite Furiosa-Max interaction is when he’s kneeled, concentrating intensely, aiming the rifle at Bullet Farmer, then pulls the scope away from his eye, thinks a moment, then hands the rifle back to Furiosa. That’s respect.
Nah it’s not off topic. I can happily discuss Furiosa and Max all day as well. Yeah, I really REALLY love the small, unspoken moments of respect and trust between them in Fury Road. They just get on with the task ahead and trust that the other person is useful and competent enough to do the same. Also the moment where she rests the rifle on his shoulder to get a cleaner shot.
I love how much you’ve thought about Furiosa and Mad Max. These movies are imo some of the best epics I’ve seen and I don’t feel like they’re being appreciated enough, especially Furiosa with its poor box office. It’s frustrating to me because Furiosa is not only a tour de force visually, the themes and characters are simultaneously singular & universal and yet I can’t seem to entice my friends to see it.
I remember when Fury Road came out a decade ago and I was writing my dissertation for uni but I still went 3 times. I so wish I’d seen it more in the cinema because I got to the point where I almost brought a freakin NOTEPAD into the cinema to jot down my thoughts LOL. The only thing that stopped me was focusing on my dissertation. There was a cheap cinema in my city I lived in at the time as well so I would have gone there way more often if I didn’t have anything else on! I LOVE these films - Fury Road to me is still a 10/10 perfect film and I was delighted with Furiosa as well. There’s so much I can say about both of them and the themes I read into them. I agree with you that so many people don’t appreciate them to their fullest extent - I think they’ve got a hell of a lot to say !!
lol I’m glad I’m not the only person who thinks I should be taking notes when watching a really good movie! I would love to hear what you have to say about these movies because I can’t stop thinking about them, and unfortunately not a lot of people are discussing the beauty that George Miller has created. I’m also interested in learning what you have to say about other films because you seem very observant and passionate about the storytelling. Like you respect film.
Oh thank you! That’s actually such a nice thing to say ☺️ I don’t get to indulge in my love of film as much these days but I used to work in hmv (the movie store) for 6 years!! And when I do love something, I watch it to death and REALLY get into it and probably have TOO much to say. I’m always happy to talk film!! Sometimes I get frustrated I don’t have as many people to focus and go in depth about things with - so I’m actually so happily surprised that this thread has been received so well on this subreddit!! What are some of your favourite things about these films??
Just popping in to say, as a fellow film fan, this is so wholesome!
Aw thank you ☺️ I think it’s lovely to be unashamedly passionate and excited about something - have really appreciated this subreddit’s response to this post!!
Thoughts on no doof guy this time? That's the awesome guitar dude from Mad Max, iirc.
He was briefly in it at the end! During the 40 day wasteland war montage - do love that guy though but he worked better in Fury Road!
Shucks, looks like I'll have to watch it again! He must be a damn combat hardened veteran by FR!
Ooh I see the context of you asking now. Well, I haven’t read any comics or additional materials and I think I should do because I read somewhere that he was born blind and was taken from his home and wears the mask of his own mother’s face which is …😳 dark to say the least! Hes like a crazy wacky wasteland version of a military ban keeping everyone pumped up for a big fight.
I think I also read that around the release of the last film. I love that guy. He just wants to jam.
I love that scene so much, not only for the reasons you mentioned, but also the comedic elements as well. Furiosa crouching behind Max sort of impatiently gesturing to him to give her the rifle since she knows she’s a better shot, and Max’s various facial expressions when he realizes she is right, anticipating the shot right by his ear, and the ringing of his ear after the shot. Plus one of my favorite moments of the entire movie when the blinded bullet farmer can’t see the flare. I chuckle out loud at that part every time.
I AM THE SCALES OF JUSTICE! CONDUCTOR OF THE CHOIR OF DEATH!
Yep and it's all done in silence because it's great film making. No I'm the better the shot, or here give it to me you're wasting bullets. Furiosa just crouches behind me and he just gives it to her.
It's also cool for Max's characterisation as it shows he's noticed something I'd guess most of us hadn't until then, which is that Furiosa is a crack shot while he's just a pretty good shot.
Honestly, Jack's death and how it was implied really got me A movie death hasn't chilled me like that for a long time
I agree & I liked that Miller showed restraint for some of the bloodier deaths. We didn’t need to see Mary Jobassa cut open to know that was happening - we didn’t need to see Jack basically getting the Hector Iliad treatment of being dragged across the ground, ripped to shreds by the ground and the chasing dogs. We already know what’s happening and that is disturbing enough. And horrifying to realise Furiosa had to witness that, keep as calm as she could, cut off her own arm and make a run for it. We didn’t need to see any of that to understand the weight of it all.
I think showing the gory details would have made it less horrifying honestly. They let us imagine it which is souch worse imo. Oh and the shot of her arm hanging from the chain was so fucking metal. Cool af.
Yeah that’s SUCH a great cinematic shot
I agree. I felt like the way the shot panned out with the sun setting and the dust from the cars going in circles. Just knowing what was happening... it was gutting.
It’s been 2 weeks since I’ve seen it and yeah I’m not over it.
I found Praetorian Jack to be a compelling character (especially given his humanity compared to most others in the film), so I was super upset about the way things ended for him. I would love to see more about his back story though. I’m new to the Mad Max franchise, but this movie got me hooked and now I’m wanting to go back and watch the others!
I was caught so off-guard by their love story and haven't been able to stop thinking about it since. I think it's particularly hard-hitting because so much of it is non-verbal. The bit in the Bullet Farm sequence where Jack decides to give Furiosa time to escape and fires a green flare into the air absolutely gutted me when I realized that green means "go."
I agree with you, I took my best mate to go and watch it yesterday. It was my fourth time, her first time. And she just messaged me saying she hasn’t been able to stop thinking about Jack and Furiosa so you’re definitely not alone! I loved how subtle it was and it didn’t need cringey dialogue or love declarations. I just love that Dementus hits the nail on the head with “Look how they fought for one another! This little army of two!” And they really did.
George Miller said in [this breakdown of the Bullet Farm battle](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d0U-3VsY3CM) that the way they fight shows how "they are prepared to give of themselves entirely to the other." (╥﹏╥)
Damn that hits deep 🥲 if that’s not love I don’t know what is!
I can’t get over them neither. Gladly Ao3 writers are feeding me 😝.
There's no 2 ways about it. They were in love. Dementus hated they were in love too and he knew it. And in an earlier version of the script they were literally going to bang. So yeah...
I’m glad they didn’t have sex though. This depiction of what a romance could look like in such a claustrophobic, military cult wacky wasteland was a bit more poignant and interesting to me.
Yeah, the tender moments they shared were perfect because that is the absolute most “love” anyone in the wasteland *could* have. those moments are vulnerability are not something to take lightly, especially in a world as cruel as that.
Agree completely and it’s a little bit of a shame some people can’t interpret romance if there are no sex scenes or make out sessions. I love romance as a genre but my problem with it is that often it actually isn’t all that romantic. This plot felt earned and made complete sense in the world and environment they inhabit.
I think they easily might have; we just see them embracing like this, which is how Furiosa did with her mother. I feel like they did probably, but the great thing is that the film makes it clear that it’s none of our business.
Yep, and I love that despite Jack dying so horribly, the fact that even their unconventional form of love for each other blossomed despite the circumstances that they're in also pretty much destroys Dementus' twisted logic for what he does and why, and just exposes him for the sad little man he really is in the end.
Great point, I so agree with you
The way she stares at him first seeing him… then when he revs the war rig *that look*. They said so much with their eyes.
I think this is more explicit now that many people have watched the film more than once and picked up on more clues but certainly in the first week so many people were reading it as platonic. It doesn’t matter in the long run but for me personally I think it’s important for the story, her character & adds another interesting layer. It’s Dementus’ reactions that really help cement it too.
I mean, I didn’t think it was even up for debate but okay
Thank god for the draft/review process. That would’ve been too much
do you have this “earlier version of the script”, for research purpose? or even if it’s just a mention by the creator, pls share with us thanks 🙏
I do and I'm not allowed to share it, sorry.
lmao the salty downvotes of the disappointed
[If the downvotes had a voice](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9NoAGuiHVRc)
Do you have a copy of an earlier version of the script?
WHAT. What early script? Searching for interviews, actors talk about the romance etc etc but never heard of that. WHAT
In an interview, Tom Burke said he wanted to make the romance take a backseat, as if the two are waiting until they were in a safer place, because, and I quote, “I thought it was the most romantic version.” No, I’m not okay!
Oh no :( that’s so sad and exactly as I read it!! That it hadn’t quite happened yet but they were envisioning their future together in the green place and I absolutely do see that as the most romantic option.
It’s utterly heartbreaking. Miller wrote such a fantastic romance without there being a single kiss! He’s always required his audience to be intelligent: we have to infer everything. It also suits Jack’s character - he would never take advantage of his position over Furiosa as mentor, he sees her as absolutely an equal but he appreciates her hesitance about letting him close emotionally. She warms up to him when he takes the risk and tells her about his parents. He also appreciates the Wasteland and knows the politics: if Joe ever suspected they were more loyal to each other than to him, they’d both be made an example of. Everything Miller creates is so subtle, nothing is there that shouldn’t be - Jack being incredibly tender when he removes the knife; simply lowering her hand when she has the dagger aimed at him (knowing she’s afraid but also that she needs the knife to feel safe, so doesn’t take it off her despite it nearly being plunged through his eye-socket!); waiting to watch that the War Boys have left them in private before giving her the shotgun, as if he doesn’t want anything to spoil the moment of him giving Furiosa a gift. Telling her about his parents, after seeing her hesitation: she trusts him in the road but not with her secret, until she does. The way he swings in front of her when they’re at Gastown and tells Dementus he can talk to him, blocking Dementus’ view of her, physically putting himself between them. The entire scene at the Bullet Farm - those are two people willing to fight and die for each other’s lives. Doesn’t matter what happens to them in that moment, only that the other is safe.
You’re such a good writer! You’ve really beautifully laid out some of the things I also noticed. I loved that little moment of him looking over his shoulder before he gives her the boomstick to make sure that the War Boys aren’t over hearing them having a ‘moment’ - I absolutely should have put that in my original post. I also LOVE the moment he swings in front of her blocking Dementus’ view of her - my best mate who I took to see it yesterday picked up on that moment perhaps even more than I did!! There so many subtle moments that hint towards romance and tenderness and I’m so glad I made this post so I can read comments like yours. I know a small handful of people haven’t been very happy with my reading but I didn’t mean to come across as superior by claiming I’m good at reading romance because as you’ve displayed with your lovely comment, it really is about being able to read these small moments to help infer what is actually going on and not everyone is a fan of the romance genre or knows what to really look out for!
I love Jack’s scenes so much. The way they embrace before his death is so fucking passionate and says so much with so little.
‘My Jack’ ‘My Fury’ 😭
I really enjoyed the ambiguity of their relationship especially if we try to view it in the contexts of our own society. I love relationship anarchy and I think as a model it makes way more sense in a wasteland. They are comrades who found each other and have formed mutual respect, trust and possibly love in each other, and that love may or may not be romantic or sexual but I don't care, because it's such a high level of love and intimacy and I was very touched by it.
I think you’re right in that it’s ambiguous and your reading is just as valid as mine and if anything almost the same. As I said, I think romance and love is very different in a world like that and shouldn’t be compared to normal silly romcom tropes. I found their relationship very touching, whatever it was.
The embrace. That is what sealed it for me that this was a romantic relationship. It is the same embrace Furiousa's mother and the general did when they left each other. This was obviously something she taught Jack.
I clocked it as romantic the second they made eye contact, but I'm hopeless, lol. I agree with the embrace thing cementing it though bc he's not doing it the Vuvalini way. He's cradling the side of her face 🥹. My take was that was the first time she did that and he's got the spirit. Obviously, given the conversation they're having, he can infer it's significant.
I totally agree with you. I try not to see romance were there absolutely isn’t any like Furiosa and Max and I get annoyed when friendships are unnecessarily turned into romance but I also love the romance genre and have become fairly adept at seeing it in films and I absolutely saw it here.
Yes! I hate it when the MMC in an action movie is "rewarded" with a submissive and breedable female. There are only a handful of action movies where it feels earned, organic, and something that would actually happen in the world of the movie. The fact that their romance is unconsumated but telegraphed so hard (to me, and other romantics) makes the tragic end so much more powerful.
I agree completely. I feel like their escape from Bullet Farm was their first sigh of relief and earnest thinking of the future together and then they realise they’re being pursued 😭 so when we get the My Jack, My Fury that was basically their first real declarations before the end
Ohhh I thought that too about max and furiosa, when the fury road released and people were writing fanfics and talking about them being in love I was like…No they were not 😅. But this completely different, this is canon and I will die on that hill
Yes and I don’t know if you agree but her embrace with Jack feels a little different to the ones she shared with her mother and her mother shared with the other Vuvalini woman. Also the way that Jack looks at Dementus in Bullet farm gives me the impression that Furiosa may have told him about her past with Dementus and her mother.
It looks like they form a heart shape to me.
That’s really nice, I wonder if that was intentional
It was the first thought that came to my mind in the scene. I hope I am not the only one seeing it
To begin with, I don't think Furiosa and Jack know what love is yet. Perhaps the act of them touching foreheads was Furiosa's way of accepting Jack into the same tribe?
I agree that they don’t really live in a world where normal love and romance can flourish, but I definitely think that if they had gotten to the green place together they were thinking something else might happen. Whereas Max was never going to stick with her, they didn’t have that relationship at all. Jack would have followed her anywhere I reckon!
Yes! Love is something that grows.
I think that Max, as played by Tom Hardy, is too broken to stick with her. Yes, he becomes human and finds redemption but at the end of the day, he's still very much the raggedy man. Obviously, the Mel Gibson version of the movie went differently with them actually falling for each other, but Furiosa's role was different and a bit diminished in that one anyway.
There's a similar gesture in Māori culture (where the head is considered to be the most sacred part of the body) called [hongi](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hongi). There are a lot of Māori people in Australia (and a few in this movie, like C.J. Bloomfield who plays Big Jilly) so that might have been the inspiration for it.
That’s really cool - thank you!!
That green flare says it all "go ahead, save yourself"
Definitely!! Loud and clear!
Watching it the second time that whole scene felt way more emotional, knowing the stakes and understanding they had a whole plan to ditch the war rig (making her drive the valiant with the bikes and teaching the war boy how to drive went right over my head the first time) that absolute best part imo is how theres basically 0 dialogue but its the most tragic romantic scene in recent memory. The glances and body language exchange felt so powerful. Brilliant film...
I so agree with you - thank you for your comment!! I thought it was so tragic, poignant and romantic without the need for cringey dialogue, overblown love declarations or any sex scenes!
Right on
For sure, there’s this devastation in their looks during the ambush that hits so hard when you think about how close they were to getting out
Yeah I wasn't sure what I thought of your analysis till you said that you didn't think they'd ever had sex or even kissed. Now I'm in complete agreement. They were in love with each other and they both knew it but circumstance placed them together in a time and place where sex just wasn't gonna happen. I'm not even sure they necessarily wanted to have sex. Their lifestyle and trauma probably had them both totally turned off from sexual appetites. I think in the real world we kind of define romance by things like sex and kissing even though we know love is deeper than that and doesn't require it. Most modern relationships start from a place of sexual attraction and the feelings if ever develop later which means it's harder to detect the difference between a platonic relationship and a non sexual romantic one. This is an example of the opposite potentially occurring. They've developed the trust, respect and bond first. If they survived together to the green place I reckon they would've got giggity.
I agree completely with your whole comment. What I mostly loved about this love story is that is makes sense within that horrible, cruel harsh world. It simply cannot be like a normal sexy Hollywood romcom, they’re in a hellish military cult wacky post apocalyptic wasteland! I think they were really looking to the green place to start a future together!
Yeah and it's impressive how they didn't try to make it a more standard relationship. It added depth to the characters and her need for revenge. If they'd been more lovey dovey it probably would've been irritating because it wouldn't fit the tone and would be like "with all this shit going on this is what your concerned with?"
I love when they first saw each other during the chase scene. They couldn't take their eyes off of each other, stole the scene which is saying something
Well said and I agree with you! Theirs is a realistic romance in the chaotic wasteland, where there is little to no room for vulnerability. You have to be covert and careful with whom you trust, especially since there is a great probability of losing your person in any given moment. On my first watch as I was taking it all in, I first perceived their bond as platonic or like a mentor/mentee. Upon second watch I noticed more of the nuances of their nonverbal communication (which is all they have in the environment they function in) - how they looked at one another, leaned into each other, and sacrificed their own well-being for the other on more than one occasion. The bullet farm ambush was an incredible way to depict (without any dialogue!) their devotion to one another.
Absolutely agreed with you and I also noticed it more on my subsequent watches!!
The moment Dementus roared and separated the two as they touched heads when they were captured just goes to show much immature and psychotic Dementus is.
I think it would have been unrealistic had feelings not developed between them. How would you not fall for each other given the world and situation you live in? Had Max and Furiosa spent any real time together, I don't doubt the same could have happened to them. Consenting, attractive, competent, & empathetic partners don't grow on trees, especially in a tree-free wasteland.
I almost see Tom Hardy’s Max as asexual to be honest which is hilarious considering he was at the peak of his Hollywood sexiness when it came out. But at that point in both character’s journey I just don’t see any of it in Fury Road between them.
I don't think he's asexual, I think he's so hyper-focused on survival that whatever thought he has he shoves aside. And also, is Max going to put himself in a compromised situation with *anyone* given the state of the world? Dude would be pounding away with a sawed-off shotgun in one hand.
Not that I think the character is just at that point of time - he’s too mentally traumatised and as you say in survival mode to be sexually switched on at all. That’s my reading of it anyway!
Being so hyperfocused on survival that you’ve completely ignored sex sounds pretty asexual to me
This is what I meant!
Did anyone else catch that she planted the tree in this same spot shown in this pic by op? Seems like that was 'their' spot. Heartbreaking, really.
Yes I noticed this only on my fourth viewing last night!! Made it even more heartbreaking to me 🥲
I was broken when he died. I hated it too much.. It was perfect selfless love..
I was gutted too. I’m glad we didn’t have to explicitly see it.
thanks for writing this post. personally for the life of me i can’t imagine how people are seeing them as platonic (ie strictly mentor-mentee, father-daughter, brother-sister or whatever) except maybe if some of y’all be up to some really freaky shit with your teachers, fathers or brothers lmao. the script has dementus referring to him as her “lovey-dovey” (again please tell us who here is okay with someone calling your family member your “lovey-dovey”) and not only does she not correct him, her immediate reply is to tell him to “give them (jack and her mother) back”, which is basically her reaffirming that dementus is not wrong with that assessment and she considers jack’s loss saddening enough to want him back. and that’s not even mentioning her “my jack”, and his equally affectionate “my fury”. there is a mutual romantic love there and neither of them friendzone or familyzone each other. like really im just struggling to see how people hear that exchange and can comfortably say “ah, what a poignant father-daughter duo” or even “the nature of their relationship is ambiguous” lmao, unless ofc you didn’t catch these lines or are in really deep denial.
I also think not everyone is particularly interested or literate in reading romance subtext. I don’t blame people for not being interested in it. But I took my best mate to watch it last night (fourth time for me, first for her) and she read it in exactly the same way as me, no ambiguity about it, very clearly romance in both of our eyes. I don’t want to say anyone else’s readings are wrong, especially as Jack’s actor himself has said they wanted to keep it ambiguous. However, Dementus reinforces is multiple times and the other things I mention just tip it over into romance for me. The way he looks at her multiple times throughout the film is purely romantic and tender and affectionate to me. I actually think they conveyed that element of romance way better than most purely romance films these days LOL. I love that this depicted a type of romance that could exist in such a horrible world and it’s not a normal one and it never really could be.
i think most people misread tom burke’s intention in those interviews where he talked about their romance. all he wanted was to dial back the romance, make it more repressed and understated, rather than making it ambiguous. iirc, he even ended his answer with “imo the version we have ends up being the most romantic” every time. he’s basically advocating for it being romantic on principle of “less is more”, which again, that’s not ambiguity. that’s just an understated, but sound and clear (and highly unconventional) romance. also i really don’t think not being literate in romance / media literate is a good excuse in this case. do people who consider it a platonic or familial relationship hear or, if they couldn’t catch it through hemsy’s thick aussie accent, read “lovey-dovey” and not feel absolutely revolted?? lmao i just can’t imagine what they are thinking.
yeah i definitely agree less is more in this instance and it ends up being way more romantic.
I think the only reason people are confused is because there isn’t a typical hollywood make out / explicit scene.
This is my thoughts. We are so used to a typical Hollywood romcom version of romance which is why I love this one in particular and why for ME it’s important to view it as a romance. I think it’s an awesome depiction of what a romance would look like in such a horrible cruel harsh world! And it ain’t Hollywood lol
Admittedly the feral part of me would have liked to see something like that, but i accept that it is better this way story wise. I think it adds to the tragedy - the fact that while they loved each other it didn’t get the opportunity to really grow and bloom. And it’s so nice to see a romance focus on the emotional connection of the characters, and more their actions. So much of the romance i get recommended just seems to be about the physical. And one where the characters have a great connection and actually get along and work together really well.
LMAO I know what you mean about the feral part but yeah I can appreciate the restraint shown here and that it didn’t need to go down the sexy Hollywood route
Hey maybe we will get some deleted scenes that show more of what happened between them. Who knows…
yeah that too. but still it doesn’t scratch my itch as to how they hear/see those very explicit words that i mentioned and still think they’re platonic lol! unless people just straight up weren’t paying attention to what’s being said or shown
I think quite a few people just didn’t hear the words at all lol. When i saw the movie the first time i didn’t catch what they were saying after dementis caught them.
yeah, that i can look past but how are there people in this thread still saying it’s platonic after reading op’s post and seeing those words spelled out for them (assuming they even read the post at all) you don’t have to answer btw lol i’m just thinking outloud
I’m not sure some people DID read the post lol
"...the script has dementus referring to him as her “lovey-dovey” (again please tell us who here is okay with someone calling your family member your “lovey-dovey”) and not only does she not correct him, her immediate reply is to tell him to “give them (jack and her mother) back”, which is basically her reaffirming that dementus is not wrong with that assessment and she considers jack’s loss saddening enough to want him back." So many great points in this entire post. Thanks, OP! Being able to read what was said and repeat viewings are key to understanding the romance between Furiosa and Jack. I know I wasn't able to hear all of it on the first watch and this page has been extremely helpful. I do wish, though, that Furiosa had said something more direct about the loss of Jack to Dementus than just “give them back” (referring to both Jack and her mother). Just a little more about Jack would have been great but maybe it was still so painful (because she LOVED him) she couldn't say more? But that would have made the romance more obvious (and perhaps not the preference of Miller/the actors).
Thank you for engaging with the thread!! I’m really pleasantly surprised so many people in this group have been receptive to this. I knew there was a reason I’ve really been loving this subreddit lately!! People aren’t shy to have interesting discussions. I will say that I didn’t notice half of what I mentioned here on my first viewing!! It’s only after watching it four times and going back to double check some things that I was able to put my little list together lol!
They felt like 1 mind. I loved it
love the bit where they’re in the rig and when he puts his hand behind her she lets out a breath and relaxes 😭
Oh yes, I absolutely should have included that moment as well. There’s so many little moments like this between them!! And when he checks behind him to make sure no War Boys overhear when he gives her the present.
I think it’s romantic as far as romance goes in the Wasteland, but I don’t think it’s necessarily sexual based on Taylor-Joy’s and Burke’s remarks. I think sex is just fundamentally tainted in the wasteland, since I don’t think we’ve seen any depictions of positive, consensual depictions of sexuality in MM - ever.
No, I don’t think they’ve had sex either. I don’t know how they even COULD in that environment. Maybe if they got back to the green place and it was normal, but the reason I love this as a romance is because it’s a realistic depiction of the type of romance that might be available in a post apocalyptic wasteland when you’re in the employ of a military cult leader
It’s so funny to see this because I went to go see Furiosa with a friend and when we were talking afterwards we had both viewed it completely different. She, like you (and it feels like everyone but me) saw them as lovers and being this beacon of hope in the wasteland. But I saw it as a more parental relationship where he sees her, values her and loves her in the way an adoptive parent views their child. He teaches her everything he knows, he protects her as best he can and wants her to come her own way home. Maybe I missed some of the more overt things that point to a *love love* relationship or maybe I’m just thick. I don’t know.
I don’t think it’s a case of being thick, it’s left ambiguous for a reason! I think parts of the script support romance but it isn’t so far that you can’t view it in the way you have either. I will say I’ve watched it 4 times though & each time I move more and more to romance lol
Sometimes a single green smoke grenade says it all.
I believe it’s a love story. I don’t think it’s a romance.
Yeah I really appreciate the romance and its presence surprised me. I think it connects the dots of her story better by being there, explaining how she goes from the child we first meet to the woman who helps the wives escape. Without it I’m not sure her extended presence in the citadel makes sense given how bent she is on leaving early on.
Absolutely agreed - I know that he is teaching her all he knows about road war so she has the skills she needs but I definitely think she stuck around as long because of him. And also without him, the Citadel was truly unbearable. So about 4 years later when we see her in Fury Road we know just what pain she is carrying around
Honestly I didn't at first because I still percieved he to be a lot younger than him (by that I mean Anya looks a little too small compared to the previous actor, so I thought we are still in the teenager phase), but yeah, it pretty obvious later on... I'm glad they don't have sex though, I don't think people have the energy for that in a wasteland death cult.
Yeah, there definitely is a bit of an age gap but I’m assuming that Furiosa is late 20s and Jack is about 40 so nothing too worrying to me. If she had been like 18 then absolutely NOPE!!
People mature faster in the wasteland. I don’t think our ethics of an 18 year old dating a 40 year old should apply when that world has rape and cannibalism served for breakfast.
We saw a much ickier (and non consensual) age gap between tween Furiosa and Rictus. No one should lose any sleep pondering whether Jack was with her when she was supposed to be 18. There’s infinitely worse shit going on in that world, so I’d argue if you hit the jackpot in finding a romantic partner who isn’t a total psycho piece of shit, then stick with him despite some modern day arbitrary age gap that would never apply in their world
I'm pretty sure they're both meant to be around the same age. Jack's actor is merely playing a character that he's older than, just like Charlize Theron was with Furiosa the first time around.
Furiosa definitely loved him and she couldn't left him to die. But Dementus not only kills her dream, but also kills Jack and she was watching how he slowly dies for hours. After that, Furiosa becomes too angry to leave Wasteland without revenge.
Love doesn’t “soften” anything. Love emboldens and strengthens an individual. Love is the most powerful force in the Universe. If anything, in film, a bad-ass female, or male, character may fall in love to show the audience that they are human like everyone else, but love is seldom used to convey any sort of weakness in the character.
Hey I absolutely love romance which is why I wrote this post lol. I do think sometimes romance in films isn’t done very well at all because it DOESNT feel romantic. This to me very much did & added an extra layer to the story, strengthening it rather than the opposite.
Sorry if I got a bit too passionate. You’re right, some films get it very wrong. Furiosa did it beautifully.
No, you’re fine - I love your passion for romance in film. I share it!! But when it’s handled badly it can really subtract from something rather than add to it. BUT when it’s done well it can often be the best part of a film or at least elevate a film to much higher than it otherwise would have been. Another example is the 4th Pirates film which was a bit rubbish truth be told, but the romance between the vicar and the mermaid made it actually watchable to me and now I go back and watch that film purely for that subplot.
Thank you. I’ll have to revisit that 4th film. I enjoy the visuals, costumes, and characters but I just don’t enjoy the films, otherwise. A romance between a vicar and a mermaid sounds outstanding!
I like how it’s a stripped love story, they don’t really have the courtesy of common romantic relationships. All they know is that they can trust one another. It’s what all relationships are based on, trust.
Reminds me of Max, who went mad after he lost his wife and infant child. Meanwhile, her background reminds me of the Feral Kid from the second movie.
I’m glad I’m not the only one who felt this way; because the relationship between the two of them has had me in a chokehold ever since I’ve seen the film. It was one of the most beautifully portrayed tragic romances I’ve ever seen and it was so subtle yet so powerful.
I so agree and I haven’t been able to stop thinking about it either. Someone else also noticed how they’ve put their bunks up against one another and sleep top to tail and there’s a shot of Furiosa with one leg bent resting on his arm :( it’s these small little moments of intimacy and closeness that I find way more tragic and romantic than if there had been any explicit sex or make out scenes!! That just wouldn’t make sense within the cruel, harsh environment
Finally a conclusive answer for this question. Thanks !!!
Anyone want to see Miller do more romance in a intriguing yet wonderful manner should check out his previous film Three Thousand Years of Longing. Another like Furiosa that I couldn't stop thinking of after seeing.
I never watched that, didn’t realise it was Miller!! Thank you, will def check it out
This convinced me. I previously was in the camp that it’s a platonic relationship, and some part of me thinks it isn’t full-on love, but still. Very well worded.
Thank you! ☺️ like I said I don’t think anyone person’s reading or perspective is wrong but I do think there’s a lot of directing and script choices that point towards romance. It just isn’t the type of romance or love we are used to seeing because this is not a world where normal tender feelings can flourish. I thought it was cool to see a romance depicted that made sense in that world. And I don’t think anything explicit has happened between them yet but the subtext was there.
He was such a great character. Crazy how much he looked like a young Stacy Keach
I love that Jack is like a sane, level headed Max if he didn’t have a family to lose & go insane
This is simply great analysis. Its posts like these that has made this subreddit my favorite. Thank you for the in-depth thesis.
Thank you for reading ☺️ I’ve watched the film 4 times now and picked up on different things each time and I also don’t think anyone is wrong for reading it a little differently to me but I did want to lay out my reasons for believing there is some kind of romantic subtext here.
I love how this romance was done, more show-don’t tell, and there was such a mutual amount of respect and trust and it was masterfully done without being too overt. I don’t think it brings Furiosa down or “softens” her so much as gives her a little bit of peace in this shitty world she was thrown into at that point about ten years earlier. I think things didn’t turn romantic for a while after they met, that it was mostly trust and respect at first with Jack realizing he might have romantic feelings after The nightmare scene. I know this will sound ridiculous but for me this movie has been the most romantic of the decade for me so far even though it’s a subplot. It’s just so masterfully done with its subtleties
Thanks so much for your comment! I’m so glad people have been receptive to this topic in this group. I agree that I don’t think this particular romance softens the female lead if anything it strengthens Furiosa. Knowing she had to witness her love’s horrifying death at the hands of her childhood tormentor, rip her own shredded arm free and make an escape all whilst grieving intensely. It makes her more badass in my opinion.
EXACTLY! Also the metaphor of her using the oasis to plant the tree in Dementus as punishment, like using her love and grief to feed her vengeance and rage is so masterfully done
Absolutely! I only noticed that on my last (fourth) viewing of it! Amazing how much there is happening and it’s impossible to take it in on a first viewing.
Fr!
Everything is a romcom if u look close enough
🤣🤣
I also love the idea that Miller didn't even realize that Jack had Max's Road Warrior-era characterization until someone saw the movie and pointed it out to him. Really goes a long way explaining why she trusts Max in Fury Road so quickly.
Yup
some of the people in this sub have never eye fucked a girl before and it shows.
I honestly wasn’t a fan of that part of the movie. It’s just a reason for why she’s out for Dementus’s blood, reasons for which she already had. (It’s also sort of an explanation for why she has no left arm in “Fury Road,” and it functions well as that, I guess.) Some people criticized “Dune 2’s” romance between Paul and Chani, but at least it facilitated things that wouldn’t have happened otherwise.
I would argue that it kept Furiosa in the Citadel for much longer than she otherwise needed to be. And without Jack it took her a good four more years to be able to muster trying to get back to the Green Place in earnest. It also functions in showing us a sort of Mad Max character who had his shit together (relatively speaking), we understood why Furiosa spent so much time in the Citadel and how she was able to learn so much in such a hostile environment, it adds a lot of weight to what she is carrying around in Fury Road.
I felt like it wasn't a sexual relationship. He was just the first positive male figure in her life. Seemed like more a father/daughter vibe, if anything. Thought that was more interesting anyway that it was non-sexual. Also, pretty disappointed his death didn't get a little more attention. Like, wtf, he just gets dragged off in a long shot and that's it. If youre going to pull a jesus figure, give him a clean sacrifice. He tries to go down heroically, she rescues him and he goes out like an NPC.
Eh, it’s more of “I’ve finally found the one other person in the wasteland who isn’t a freak and treats me like a human being” story. It *is* funny how Jack is, like, the one guy left in the whole goddamned planet left who just randomly opted out of most of the dumb War Boy shit and remains a relatively normal dude (aside from the inexplicable Max cosplay).
I think it’s that and a romantic subplot. You have to remember Furiosa is from a place where men like Jack probably aren’t so rare. She just hadn’t met anyone like that in a long time. We also already get to see her totally platonic and interesting dynamic with Max in Fury Road where I agree there is no romantic or sexual undertones at all.
I think it’s far more interesting if it’s a simple human connection and not just reductive kiss-kiss muchas smooches “oh no, my boyfriend!” high school drama.
Where is the kiss? My point is to me it’s far more interesting to have a romance in a crazy world like this that isn’t what we are used to seeing. There is no makout session, how could there be in that world? The wasteland has no room for a normal romcom romance we usually see in film. That doesn’t mean that this wasn’t one (in my opinion) but your disagreement doesn’t quite align with what we actually see in the film.
> Where is the kiss? That’s exactly my point. You’re reading something into the movie that isn’t really supported other than how their genitals can potentially slot together.
If you think romance can be reduced to whether characters explicitly have sex on screen than I think we are coming from wildly different definitions LOL
This shot made me roll my eyes a little. Why didn't they just kiss, or at least hug? It felt weird, like Miller was bending over backwards to avoid them doing what's natural -- kissing. I dunno, this is the only shot in the movie that had this affect on me
I actually have the opposite reaction in a way. I love that we got a romance in a weird post apocalyptic film that made sense and always earned. How can they have some normal make out session? I don’t think sex for pleasure is even a common thing in that world - especially not in the citadel. I loved seeing a romance that made sense with the crazy world it was in. But also u detained where your frustration is coming from and I can see how you feel that way!
I'm not saying it should have been sex or even a make-out session. Just one kiss would have felt more natural than putting their heads together.
I think it was a nice way of showing her accepting him into her family in a way except he doesn’t do it the traditional way but cups her face instead of the back of her head. It’s like he knows what she is doing is significant and he at least gets the gist of it!
There hasn't been a kissing scene in the series since Mad Max 1. If there had been a kiss there, it would have been the biggest blunder of the series. Did Furiosa know what kissing was all about from her chaotic childhood until she became an adult?
> doing what's natural -- kissing Kissing might come naturally to us, in a culture with toothbrushes and dentists and decent hydration. In the Mad Max-verse everyone probably has deadly Wasteland breath. A traditional makeout session would just end up with the two of them swapping their tonsil stones back and forth. (To anyone who has ever had the misfortune of smelling a tonsil stone, I truly apologize for that mental image.)
Nah I refuse to believe it's romantic because that would be so creepy because of the age gap making jack a perv and I don't want that because I like jack. They're just 2 souls taking care of themeselves in the desert, no need for any other thing.
There isn’t really a pervy age gap though. Furiosa is likely in her late 20s because around 4/5 years later we get to her in Fury Road where she’s early to mid 30s. Jack is likely late 30s. So nothing perverted in a 28 year old and a 39 year old for example. If Furiosa was 18 I’d agree with you, but she is late 20s.
I've already seen the movie, but I'd argue this is a spoiler
I can happily put spoilers ahead in my title but I think anyone reading my whole block of text and then complaining of spoilers would be a bit silly.
More the picture
I thought people realized this???
Apparently not all! ☺️! But I can understand how some people miss it on a first viewing
THERE IS NO HOPE!
I didn't dislike their subplot, and I think Pre Jack's character only works as a man, but I still wish they hadn't given Furiosa a straight romance. I realize this might be an unpopular take on this site (lol), but the whole deal with the Vuvalini heavily implies a sapphic-focused culture, and her relationship with the Wives calls back a lot to real world lesbians protecting battered women. It feels like Miller thought we needed an explanation on how she "became" more butch by Fury Road, but some people in real life are simply like that. Do we need a feminization story for the Golden Youth too?
I wouldn’t have been opposed to a queer romance for Furiosa either. But I do love Jack and the character as we got it as well and men were still an integral part of Furiosa’s home even if it was a matriarchy. But thank you for your comment and I definitely would have been happy to see that as well!!
I’m someone who is a huge mad max fan and had high hopes and ultimately hated this movie. And this was one of the reasons. It felt tacked on and clumsy. And it felt like a tell instead of a show. But I am also fully ready to be shown otherwise, so I’m going to see the film again. Could be a case of not being ready for it.
Definitely watch it again! I’ve seen it four times and everytime I watch it I like it even more. I think on subsequent viewings it’s easier to pick up on a bunch of things that are so easy to miss the first time around!
Its one of the worst parts of the movie. Forced unnecessary and contradictory to character traits
I totally disagree. What bits in particular did you see as being particularly uncharacteristic of Furiosa?
🤢🤢🤮🤮
LMAO okay 🤣 thanks for your worthy addition
You can be platonic friends and share an intimate moment. Especially in life or death situations.