Why is Max so mad when he drops Brian off the last time? - Cabaret (1972) Discussion

[–] nottesigana 17 years ago

I suspect that they had sex and that Brian told Max that he wasn't interested in going to Africa.

Nos perituri mortem salutamus nobis semper sit amor.

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[–] rrb 17 years ago

Do you really need obvious things spelled out for you? Plainly, offscreen, Brian had broken off his relationship with Max, and he was upset.

God, you're dense.

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[–] smithsfover 17 years ago

Wait not neccessarily. Max and Brian might have had an argument over anything. Perhaps over Sally and her behaviour which led to Max breaking it off with Brian. I mean Brian gets very angry with Sally when he comes back, if hed broken it up with Max, it would make sense for him to to feel bad for ending it for them. Course could be that Brian breaks it off, they all options.

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[–] rrb 17 years ago

Sure. Or maybe Max just was short-tempered because he’d been told he had terminal cancer! I guess that’s an option too…

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[–] Taylor_is_tight 15 years ago

Well, Max basically sends them a letter saying "It's been swell kids, had fun screwing you both but now I'm off to Argentina". So perhaps Brian was objecting to being used and Max got mad that Brian had caught on to his plan

Xandi Sanders
God made coke. God made Pepsi. God made Greg Sanders so darn sexy!

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[–] marrondo732 15 years ago

I took it that Max is not comfortable with his sexuality even though he acts as though he is. I think the chase is what's enjoyable to him. It's a game, a simple flirtation. Once he's made the conquest he then turns on the person. He's embarrassed and makes it seem like it wasn't his idea. That it's the other person who's responsible it got to that point. That he really didn't want it to go that far. So he turns the tables on them. It makes him feel better if he can blame someone other than himself for something he, deep down inside, thinks is a weakness or is dirty. I think that's why Brian looked confused when he got out of the car. I don't think Brian understood what was happening at first. He didn't understand Max' reaction. Once Brian is with Sally and hears that she also was with Max does he suddenly realize they both have been played by him.

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[–] kellysassafras 15 years ago

I took it that Max is not comfortable with his sexuality even though he acts as though he is. I think the chase is what's enjoyable to him. It's a game, a simple flirtation. Once he's made the conquest he then turns on the person. He's embarrassed and makes it seem like it wasn't his idea. That it's the other person who's responsible it got to that point. That he really didn't want it to go that far. So he turns the tables on them. It makes him feel better if he can blame someone other than himself for something he, deep down inside, thinks is a weakness or is dirty. I think that's why Brian looked confused when he got out of the car. I don't think Brian understood what was happening at first. He didn't understand Max' reaction. Once Brian is with Sally and hears that she also was with Max does he suddenly realize they both have been played by him.

That's brilliant.

I haven't changed, but I know I'm not the same.

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[–] Noir-It-All 15 years ago

I think that after that point, Brian began to assert his views about Max, Sally and even the Nazis.

"Two more swords and I'll be Queen of the Monkey People." Roseanne

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[–] mrs-drinkwalter 14 years ago

Also, I think Max is used to having every situation go the way he wants it to go, and whatever happened between Brian and Max wasn't exactly the way Max wanted it to go.

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[–] alyoucha 13 years ago

I agree with marrondo732's explanation. We can't just imagine that they had an argument over something imaginary. It has to be understood from their characters. Brian was a conquest for Max, after which he felt embarrassed and angry and decided to turn away from them.

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[–] crm22 11 years ago

You voiced my thoughts better than I thought them

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[–] obbie 14 years ago

I assumed it was because Sally and Brian told him that they'd rather be with each other, and therefore unable to continue their relationship with Max at its previous intensity.

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[–] brackenhe 14 years ago

I don't think it had anything to do with their little threesome. I think it had to do with Max thinking that his "class" were going to be able to control the Nazis but after the scene in the outdoor cafe & Brian asks him "You still think you'll be able to control them" Max decided to go away to where he would still have his fortune but be out of the reach of the Nazis, who still controlled the part of Africa they were planning to visit.

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[–] marthalorusso 14 years ago

brackenhe, I agree with you.

In the "Tomorrow belongs to me" scene, they were perfectly fine, but then Brian questions Max about if he was sure Nazis can be controlled, we don't see what happens in the car, but they possibly argued about it (and not about their relationship) and Max began to see Brian's`point and he realized he had to change plans and that made him very upset.

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[–] 14 years ago

[deleted]

[–] vonziggy 12 years ago

Several good points here. When Max was with Sally he could control her by buying her gifts and taking her out to dinner and getting her drunk. She would take naps and then be quiet. Max thought he had Brian when he saw him using the cigarette holder but Brian is too smart for him. Brian is one step ahead of him by asking him if he can still control them after the brownshirt boy gets everyone roused to sing. Everyone including Max, but excluding Brian and the old man are taken in. Max is doubly mad that he realizes that not only can he not dupe Brian easily but also the Nazi movement. It makes him cross to know and he has no choice but to organize his accounts and to flee to South America to control his interests. I believe he would have continued having fun with both Brian and Sally if he could have kept his money.

You can live on fishes but you can't live on wishes

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[–] skinsk-1 11 years ago

I agree. . . Sally and Brian were amusement for Max. . . maybe Brian threw some "reality" his way, but I think he saw his riches in the light of the Weimar Republic and split. . . the good old days were over.

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[–] raymondoedwards 12 years ago

I thought...

Brian and Sally were playthings to Max, he had his fun and probably planned more fun in Africa.
The fast changing political situation made his situation in Germany untenuable, he had to leave. Without the baggage of his playthings.

Max never cared for either of them. They were toys to him and he cast them aside.

Edit... to the op question... he was angry with the situation, not Brian. IMHO.

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[–] 11 years ago

[deleted]

[–] ilahilda 10 years ago

I saw this movie for the first time last night, I kinda sensed Max was bi.

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[–] Stirchley 10 years ago

I kinda sensed Max was bi.

LOL. Ya think?

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[–] stevekaczynski 8 years ago

He says to the driver something like "Get going, you idiot!" He must be a wonderful employer...
I assumed they broke up although on whose terms was not clear.
Unless Max was Jewish, and there is no sign of it, his fortune would not be threatened by the Nazis directly. Indeed Max thought the Communists were more of a problem and the Nazis might be the antidote to them. On the other hand, even in 1931 (when the film is set, although some of the election propaganda posters in the film date from 1932) there were people who warned that the Nazis ultimately meant another European war, and it is doubtful whether Max would have stayed wealthy, especially if Germany lost.

"Chicken soup - with a *beep* straw."

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