I can understand why no studio has dared buy “Magazine Dreams” (for now). Its Sundance debut might have been greeted by a rowdy ovation from the Eccles theater audience, but this is the type of film that isn’t a crowd-pleaser by any sense of the term.
It’s a grim character study of an amateur bodybuilder (Jonathan Majors) struggling to find human connection as his relentless drive to be recognized pushes him to test his sanity. It’s basically another film inspired by Taxi Driver’s Travis Bickle — an oddball loner starving to get recognized and slowly losing his mind.
As Killian Maddox, Jonathan Majors continues to prove that he’s one of the best young acting talents out there. His character is impeded by an overtly muscular physique hiding terrifyingly awkward social skills. He’s a man-child with a serious case of anger management issues. This is a delusional anti-hero who goes through a number of cringe-inducing scenes, including one of the most awkward dinner dates ever put on celluloid. Steroids have destroyed his body, as has the illusion that he’ll be on the cover of his favourite bodybuilding magazines. The quest for physical perfection has left him with indelible mental scars.
At 122 minutes, “Magazine Dreams” feels much too long, and the number of false endings here is innumerable. I spent the first hour completely absorbed by the filmmaking and the acting, but writer-director Elijah Bynum doesn’t seem to know when enough is enough. The film starts spinning out of control, when an incel narrative kicks in and its themes of neurotic hypermasculinity quickly fade.
Ultimately, this is and should be seen as the Jonathan Majors show — the commitment he brings to his role is damn-near terrifying to behold. Killian’s all-too-apparent flaws become painfully real, and there’s a kind of softened terror in the way Majors makes this character unravel before our very eyes. You’ll be hearing a lot about this performance in the months to come.