Fearless? Peter Weir, the sage, and the fragility of goodness

Rafael Yglesias’s Fearless, adapted for film by Peter Weir, stages a striking ethical reflection on the nature of the best human life. Section 1 looks at the film’s portrayal of Max Klein, an ordinary man who becomes “fearless” after conquering his worst fear. Max exhibits a profile of supererogatory virtues recalling those of the classical sage, yet section 2 argues that Fearless as a whole presents a powerful criticism of such a “fearless” life. Echoing criticisms of the invulnerability of the sage in Michel de Montaigne and Martha Nussbaum, Fearless’s true hero is its less ostentatious heroine: Max’s wife, Laura.