‘Magazine Dreams’ Sundance Film Festival Review: Jonathan Majors does all the heavy lifting in bodybuilding psychodrama

Magazine Dreams is a drama and second feature film directed by Elijah Bynum and starring Jonathan Majors, Haley Bennett, Taylor Paige and Harrison Page

The film opens with a beautiful shot of Killian Maddox (Majors) showing off his chiseled physique under an orange shade as if he was in a bodybuilding competition. This is overlaid with a voiceover of him having a conversation with his therapist, who is having a conversation about his erratic behavior after being hospitalized. Killian takes training very seriously and uses steroids to get the perfect physique. Appearing to be on the ASD spectrum, he writes letters to his favorite bodybuilder, Brad Vanderhorne (Michael O’Hearn), hoping to hear from him. He has no friends, only his grandfather (Page) who he takes care of. There’s Jessica (Bennett), a woman at the local grocery store with whom he has a crush. He asks her out, but before she can answer, he runs away because Killian fears rejection.

It is clear that this man longs to bond with other people, but his behavior is obnoxious, bordering on the creepy. He is prone to violent outbursts and destroys a local paint shop for not coming to paint his grandfather’s house. After fleeing the scene, Killian gets into a car accident and discovers that the steroids have created tumors in his liver and caused other organs to shut down. Despite knowing this information, he still refuses to be treated. His quest to win his upcoming bodybuilding championship will be done by any means necessary. Even if it means ruining every relationship or dying in the process.

Magazine Dreams is a deeply disturbing character study about mania. The audience is forced to witness every painful moment of an emotional breakdown that is depressing to watch. Killian is so disconnected from reality that his attempts to connect with it are met with disaster. He lies to himself and others and is angry that the world ignores his existence. He is crushed by the world and keeps his feelings a secret. Instead of expressing himself honestly, he takes it out on those around him, destroying everything in his wake.

I’ve heard rumors of people comparing it to Martin Scorceses taxi driverbut to me it looks like Ralph Ellison’s transparent man. The book follows a black man as he navigates and fails through various factions of American society. It is this failure that makes him retreat inward. Would have been great if Magazine Dreams was simpler and more coherent than Ellison’s book. There are several times I thought the movie would end, but it just goes on and on. It exhausted me because this film is brutal in its brutality and in its treatment of this person who just wants to be heard. It is this treatment and invisibility that has made him an angry outcast.

Jon Otazua’s editing is sublime, but it serves a great purpose in showing us how far Killiam is from the real world and purposefully difficult to keep up with. However, this does not always serve the story. There are many fade-to-black moments that made me think the movie was finally over, but it just went on and on. Instead of anticipating the next scene, I began to wish for an ending. Not because the film is bad or boring, but because it is so intense and exhausting.

Jonathan Majors is a revelation. It’s hard to take your eyes off him, the character demands it and the audience will be mesmerized by it. The Killum Maddox is the type of characterization usually reserved for white male actors. There are many films about male loneliness, but something about his mannerisms and even his vocal intonation is something I haven’t seen many black actors do. It’s the other characters that are troublesome, like Bennett as this sensible boxer and Taylor Paige as a sex worker. Both characters could have been edited out because we don’t need them to tell us how unprepared he is for relationships with women. The public can see for themselves.

Mostly, Magazine Dreams is immersive and Majors do all the heavy lifting. It’s worth seeing for the performance alone.