Searchlight Pictures has some high hopes for Elijah Bynum‘s “Magazine Dreams”. It’s officially dated the film for a December 8th, 2023 release date. I would guess a TIFF bow in September is in order, primarily to give Jonathan Majors’ incredible performance an Oscar push.
It doesn’t have a shot at Best Picture, but Searchlight sure as hell has a major chance of cracking Best Actor. Ultimately, this is and should be seen as the Jonathan Majors show — the commitment he brings to his role as a sociopathic bodybuilder is damn-near terrifying to behold. There’s a kind of softened terror in the way Majors makes his Killian unravel before our very eyes. You’ll be hearing a lot about this performance in the months to come.
After its premiere at Sundance, it took some time for a studio to grab “Magazine Dreams.” There were rumors that Neon, Sony Pictures Classics and HBO were in the mix, but that they were a bit worried about the film’s runtime. The film does need a trim. I’m sure Searchlight has mentioned this to Bynum. Don’t be surprised if the runtime is snipped by the time it screens at TIFF.
Its Sundance debut might have been greeted by a rowdy ovation at the Eccles theater, but this is the type of film that isn’t a crowd-pleaser by any sense of the term. It also has one-too-many false endings — as mentioned, a trip to the editing room is almost a given.
“Magazine Dreams” is 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.
Does he have a shot at an Oscar nomination? I really think so. It’s a showy role that encompasses both the (very) physical and mental scars of a man drowned out by delusion.