Maxie

Maxie

Year: 1985

Runtime: 98 mins

Language: English

Director: Paul Aaron

FantasyRomanceComedy

After Nick and Jan settle into a San Francisco apartment, their eccentric landlady tells them the story of Maxie, a flamboyant party girl from the 1920s who died in a car crash the morning before her big Hollywood studio audition. Maxie's restless ghost still haunts the building, even possessing Jan, and will only move on if she can finally land that audition.

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Timeline & Setting – Maxie (1985)

Explore the full timeline and setting of Maxie (1985). Follow every major event in chronological order and see how the environment shapes the story, characters, and dramatic tension.

Time period

Present day

The main action unfolds in a contemporary urban setting as a married couple settles into a rundown apartment. Interwoven are flashbacks and a spectral link to Maxie Malone’s 1920s era, revealed through the apartment itself and a fateful Cleopatra audition.

Location

San Francisco

The film is set in a faded apartment building in San Francisco. The building becomes the portal to a past life when Maxie Malone left a message behind its walls. Modern life around the city contrasts with the apartment's lingering 1920s atmosphere.

🏙️ Urban city 🏚️ Historic apartment building

Last Updated: October 04, 2025 at 13:44

Main Characters – Maxie (1985)

Meet the key characters of Maxie (1985), with detailed profiles, motivations, and roles in the plot. Understand their emotional journeys and what they reveal about the film’s deeper themes.

Nick Chaney (Mandy Patinkin)

A practical husband whose life is upended by a supernatural link to Maxie Malone. He navigates tension at work and in his marriage as the living conduit for Maxie’s presence. His curiosity conflicts with the inexplicable events surrounding the apartment.

🎭 Ambitious 👔 Husband 🌀 Entangled with Maxie

Jan / Maxie Malone (Glenn Close)

Nick’s wife, initially staid, who becomes host to Maxie’s spirit. The possession unleashes her repressed sexuality and boldness, transforming her interactions at parties and in the Cleopatra audition. She embodies the crossover between two eras’ personas.

🎭 Actress 💃 Repressed turned liberated 🧬 Dual identity

Mrs. Lavin (Ruth Gordon)

The eccentric upstairs landlady who reveals the apartment’s Maxie Malone history. She is overwhelmed by the discovery but acts as a catalyst for the film’s supernatural link between past and present.

🏚️ Landlady 🗝️ Keeper of secrets

Policeman

The street-level authority who briefly interrupts Nick and Maxie’s escapades but ultimately lets them go. The scene underscores the blurred line between danger and freedom in Maxie’s world.

🚓 Authority 🧭 Threshold crossing

Harry Hamlin (himself)

A cameo appearance by the actor playing himself during the Cleopatra audition, providing a meta layer to the film’s performance world.

🎬 Cameo 🗣️ Self-portrait

Last Updated: October 04, 2025 at 13:44

Major Themes – Maxie (1985)

Explore the central themes of Maxie (1985), from psychological, social, and emotional dimensions to philosophical messages. Understand what the film is really saying beneath the surface.

🌀 Identity

A ghostly soul inhabits Jan, merging past and present. The possession raises questions of free will, selfhood, and how two lives can coexist within one body. The film uses this boundary-crossing to explore personal awakening and dependence.

🎭 Performance

Maxie’s star persona returns through Jan’s body, culminating in a Cleopatra audition. The line between acting and living blurs as characters reveal and reinvent themselves on stage and in life. Performance is shown as both art and survival.

💃 Liberation

The possession allows Jan to express sexuality and confidence she previously suppressed. Maxie’s vivacious spirit empowers a freer sense of self, offering a rebirth through shared memory. The result is a more liberated, self-assured woman.

Last Updated: October 04, 2025 at 13:44

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Maxie Summary

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Maxie Summary

Maxie Timeline

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Maxie Timeline

More About Maxie

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