FRANCIS FUCKS WITH THAT OLD MAN BUT THAT OLD MAN DO NOT FUCK WITH FRANCIS!
i know that a very common interpretation of Scarecrow (1973) is that Max and Francis are in Romantic Love but i cant lie i Disagree with that and i lowk think it's a kinda lamesauce take on their relationship....
like i really just dont get a romantic vibe from them or the movie at all. to compare it to Midnight Cowboy (1969) which has a similar story, similar vibe etc., i can SEE the ways the film is laying out Joe Buck and Rico's feelings for each other. The way Rico looks at Joe when he says "you're alright for a cowboy" is INSANE, Rico's Florida fantasy having Joe CONSISTENTLY SHIRTLESS, neither of them correcting Shirley when they ask if they're a couple, JOE NOT BEING ABLE TO GET IT UP BECAUSE HE'S TOO BUSY THINKING ABOUT RICO??? to me there's a lot of very clear hints that there's something Stewing between these two.
Scarecrow doesn't really give me that! The most glaring thing I can think of that points to their relationship being possibly romantic is the fact that Frenchy and Coley are parallels of Francis and Max, most importantly Frenchy is a clear parallel of Francis. Both wear cooler colors like purple and blue, they are referred to solely as nicknames (Francis as Lion and Frenchy as well French) and both are constantly trying to please. Particularly, to please Max. This is a pretty clear parallel because like Frenchy and Max are FUCKIN and Frenchy and Max being into each other has to mean SOMETHING in that regard but here's my thought......to me it kinda proves a more unrequited desire on Francis's end.....Frenchy is the one who is trying really really hard to get with Max and he's into her sure but he's not in love with her, he just wants her for what she can give him (makes Max sound like a Massive Asshole which like he is but i feel bad bc Max Millan i love u but ur fucked in the head sorry sister) anyway Frenchy's trying to make him homecooked dinners and trying her best to please and he's just being like Hell Yeah This Is Awesome WHICH IS KINDA THE SAME WAY HE AND FRANCIS ARE, Francis is kinda Max's little Pet he literally NAMES THAT KID AFTER AN ANIMAL!
LIKE I FEAR MAX MILLAN DOES NOT FUCK WITH FRANCIS LIONEL DELBUCHI LIKE THAT.....at least in my personal opinion....like i think Francis could very well have a crush or infatuation with Max that Max does NOT have with Francis because to ME the crux of their relationship and dynamic is the fact it is UNBALANCED. Max is constantly disregarding Francis for his own personal gain whereas Francis is constantly and DESPERATELY trying to please him and prove himself to him in some way. Max says every fight Francis's fault, Max drags Francis into ALL of his bullshit and even suggests they don't do the ONE THING Francis wants to do in his life, all the while Max is kinda roleplaying as an older mentor figure, trying to guide Francis and take him under his wing and that's the problem bc his wing is FUCKED! "you gotta put in the work, this is what you gotta do, I've got it all planned out" etc. etc. Max wants to be important to Francis SO BAD and maybe bc deep down he cares what Francis thinks but it feels like it's more just bc Max wants to be important SOOO BAD in general. But what ends up happening is that FRANCIS is the one who ends up teaching Max stuff, he teaches Max about the story of the scarecrow and it ends up benefiting them! Max's bullshit teachings never did jackshit but FRANCIS'S actually WORK.
And to ME that's kinda the crux of their relationship. To me their dynamic and relationship isn't romantic or about two people in deep unspoken love a la Midnight Cowboy it's about two people in an unbalanced, fucked up co-dependent situation that will never work i call it the Wannabe Mentor Relationship That Got Fucked Up. They are SOOO much more Teacher-Mentor dynamic than they are a Romantic Dynamic and i think that's just so much more of an INTERESTING INTERPERTATION...
ok I have to get aromantic pilled rn but like. i think the reason the romantic interpretation Frustrates me is bc a lot of people think that Romance is like the Height of Love. blah blah if two characters care about each other in a deep unfathomable way it MUST be romantic love because that's the End All of love, it's the most Powerful formmm GAHHH I THINK THAT'S BULLSHIT!!!!! I think it's really lamesauce to think that deep love can't be found in other ways or that the Default of love is Romantic like it kinda takes away from the power of platonic love or familial love etc.....
bc Francis and Max DO care about each other, in Max's case he learned to care about Francis much too late but they DO have love for each other to me it's just not ROMANTIC LOVE!!!! AT LEAST!!!! TO ME!!!!!! who is aromantic pilled.....so maybe biased but it's ok....
and NONE of this is me saying Scarecrow isn't a queer story or that these characters aren't queer coded bc SHEESH this movie is HOMO PILLED! it's jus not YAOI.....it can be unrequited yaoi....but to little old me.....it's something more sinister and dubious and spooky and scary and ghouls at every corner....
i have 2 billion trillion 1000 thoughts on The Scared Crow (1973) staring Genetics Hackerman and Apple Cinus. this is just a little taste and morsel straight from my autistic aromantic mind
