More than just a henchman: Nux in 'Mad Max: Fury Road'

It's been nearly 2 years since MMFR was released, so might as well take a look back now...

It's hard not to have Mad Max: Fury Road grow on you as time goes by. I loved it when I watched it back in 2015, but perhaps even more so now I've seen the film a couple more times. Elements I'd always appreciated were the fantastic technical elements, everything is so on point in terms of the aesthetic of the grimy but strangely beautiful surroundings and the character's costumes and especially makeup; the fast-paced editing, beautiful direction by George Miller, that heart-pounding score, and the wonderful action sequences. However, I don't think I've ever quite given other aspects of the film the credit they deserve. Acting on all fronts is actually pretty terrific, making it one of the best ensembles in recent memory. I've always thought Theron and Hardy were very good in their respective roles, but again, with time I've come to really admire how they craft such understated arcs into their stoic and determined characters, and create such an impactful chemistry in such a short span of time. And the Wives are all wonderfully acted too, especially Abbey Lee and Riley Keough who I'm glad to see making recent breakouts, and the villains, from Immortan Joe to the obnoxious Slit, are all delightfully sleazy and hateful villains.

Then there's the script which I'd also underappreciated at first, it's a simple plot, essentially one long back-and-forth chase sequence, but there's such a conciseness to how it zips past like on of those wonderful cars on the Fury Road, and there's so many quotable lines like 'MEDIOCRE' and 'AND NOW WE BRING HOME THE BOOTY!' and 'I thought you weren't insane anymore', and of course lines delivered by a very special someone who I'll get onto in a bit. Then the character dynamics which is perhaps what the film excels at most, is quite something to behold, there's so many relationships going on at each point in the film but you get such a distinct and memorable impress of how they're formed, and why they're sustained, even with the brisk pace of the film and all.

Which brings me to my topic today: Nux, played by Nicholas Hoult. This is truly a performance that defies description, and I'll be honest when I first watched the film, I was impressed but somewhat neglected how much of an impact he'd made on me. The film as a story about Max regaining his humanity through helping Furiosa, and Furiosa's drive to make amends for her past, works powerfully enough anyway, but director George Miller and his co-screenwriters Brendan McCarthy and Nick Lathouris have another trick up their sleeves. The concept of the War Boys, made to fight for the evil Immortan Joe and die glorious deaths on the Fury Road so they can go to 'Valhalla', some far-off heavenly place far removed from their tortuous, cancer-ridden existence, is a unique one to say the least, and one which is set up to establish some colourful and fearless henchmen, so it seems.

From the first moment we see Nux, it's quite a sight to behold: a weakened, half-dead soul propped up by an (involuntary) blood donation by Max, who comes to life when hearing that Immortan Joe has a mission for the War Boys, to get their hands on Furiosa who has 'taken a lot of stuff' from him. Watching the light in Nux's eyes flash and burn as he regains purpose in life is something to behold in Hoult's performance, all culminating in those immortal lines 'we take my blood bag!', and 'if I'm gonna die, I'm gonna die historic on the Fury Road'.

The next few sequences are some of the most amazing action sequences in film history, but what's great is that through this all the script and Hoult bother to continue creating this development of Nux as a character. 'What a day! What a lovely day!' is a brilliant and exciting line to say the least that really pumps you up, but it wouldn't have quite the impact if not for how the script makes Nux such a madcap and frenzied part of the action who stands out through his pure unbridled enthusiasm. As a collective whole, you can't help but cheer for the Warboys as they watch one of their own enter Valhalla (WITNESS!'). And I love how even though they haven't exchanged a proper word with another yet, Hardy and Hoult have this odd sort of dynamic between the two as Max tries to stop Nux from messing up his car and killing the two of them, while Nux has a strange sort of affection for his 'blood bag' while technically trying to get them both killed the whole time. It's frenzied fun for all (well, besides Max, obviously).

Even in scenes where he's not quite the focus, for example in scenes dominated by the initial antagonism between Max and Furiosa, or the Bullet Farmer scene, Nux remains quite the compelling presence as just this sweet if sometimes a bit misguided little boy who tries his best to be helpful, but often failing. Then in the scenes where he gets focus he makes quite the unique impact as a henchman figure. We've gotten to see the frenzied, crazy and rather entertaining side of Nux as a fun side character, but we get more depth in the scenes where Nux, abandoned by Max, Furiosa and the Wives and returning to Immortan and Co.. The way the character reacts to being told that he'll ride 'shiny and chrome' to the gates of Valhalla once he's completed Immortan's mission, and his miserable failure afterwards, is darkly funny in one sense, and incredibly sad in the other.

Which brings me to the best part of Hoult's performance, and the conception of the character. Watching the film for the first time, I thought they were going to kill off Nux around the halfway mark as another obstacle along the way, but no, he stays, and to what incredible effect. In a brief but very effective relationship between himself and one of the wives, Keough's Capable, we get such a vivid portrait of a young man who's never known anything but pain and suffering in the world, finding just the smallest but warmest modicum of kindness from a complete stranger. Even as w see the development of his camaraderie and warmth with the rest of the group, Hoult and the screenplay never lost sight of the character's comical edge, and little scenes like him eating an insect, not knowing what a tree is are as delightful as lines like 'feels like hope' are so powerful.

The end comes from Nux, and I'll admit I did not see it coming the first time round, at least not in the way it does arrive. I was saddened by the death of Nux, but subsequent re-watches have made me appreciate just how devestating the character's departure is. His final scene may well be my favourite scene in the film, just by how melancholic and bittersweet it all is: the Wives are free, but many of our heroes have died, and Furiosa is on the cusp of death. As Rictus awakes, and lunges at the Wives, Nux hits the brakes, that beautiful music kicks in: 'Witness Me' takes on an entirely new meaning.

Really, this is an aspect of the film that I think should be studied and appreciated on all levels. It brings an all-new meaning to the word sidekick, as this sidekick entirely steals the film away on his shoulders, and it's already a great film as it is. It earns its place not only among the great supporting characters in film history, but also the all-time great characters, period.