Jonathan Majors stars in ‘Magazine Dreams’. Photo: Briarcliff Entertainment.
‘Magazine Dreams’ receives 7 out of 10 stars.
Opening in theaters March 21st is ‘Magazine Dreams,’ directed by Elijah Bynum and starring Jonathan Majors, Haley Bennett, Taylour Paige, Harrison Page, Harriet Sansom Harris, and Mike O’Hearn.
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Initial Thoughts
Jonathan Majors stars in ‘Magazine Dreams’. Photo: Briarcliff Entertainment.
‘Magazine Dreams’ originally premiered more than two years ago at the Sundance Film Festival, following which Searchlight Pictures planned to release the film later in 2023 and build an Oscar campaign about the performance of star Jonathan Majors. But Majors’ subsequent arrest for assaulting his then-girlfriend and conviction on misdemeanor charges of assault and harassment (which also cost him his role as Kang the Conqueror in the Marvel Cinematic Universe) led Searchlight to drop the film, which stayed in limbo until Briarcliff – the small indie also behind the release of last year’s controversial ‘The Apprentice’ – picked it up and is now releasing it.
On the merits alone, there’s simply no question that Majors’ performance may have sent him home with an Oscar had events turned out differently. While ‘Magazine Dreams’ itself is uneven and begins to break down toward the end, the film is visually arresting and narratively gripping for most of the way. Majors is simply a force of nature in the movie, his work as aspiring bodybuilder Killian Maddox a vortex of physical, emotional, and psychological trauma that’s almost too intense at times. Whatever you think of Majors as a person, ‘Magazine Dreams’ is a powerful testament to his raw talent as an actor.
Story and Direction
(L to R) Jonathan Majors and Elijah Bynum on the set of ‘Magazine Dreams’. Photo: Briarcliff Entertainment.
Killian Maddux is a young man with, literally, magazine dreams: he aims to land on the cover of bodybuilding magazines and become a celebrity like his idol, Brad Vanderhorn (played by real-life bodybuilder and magazine cover staple Mike O’Hearn). Posters and photos of Vanderhorn – who he writes constant, unanswered letters to — and others cover the walls of Killian’s room in the small house he shares with his grandfather, William (Harrison Page), who is ill and needs Killian to take care of him and the house. As we find out later, Killian has been raised by William following tragic events in the past.
Killian’s daily routine otherwise consists of painful, lengthy, extensive workouts that leave him clutching his abdomen in agony while every muscle pops out in emulation of the inhuman standards set by this most bizarre of competitions. He works out maniacally, competes in local bodybuilding contests with hopes of ascending to national meets, and posts what he thinks are inspirational videos online that draw comments like “Why hasn’t this guy killed himself yet?” and “Hella incel vibes.”
It’s clear from the start that Killian is lonely, isolated, psychologically scarred and emotionally stunted; his interactions with the customers at the supermarket where he works are awkward and socially inept, and his attraction to checkout girl Jessie (Haley Bennett) leads to a date that the word “disastrous” doesn’t really do justice to. But Killian’s other interactions with the world, unfortunately, end up in much worse places than his date slipping out the back on the pretense of going to the bathroom: after a dismissive phone call with a paint shop that refuses to come back to the house for some touch-ups, Killian heads there and promptly destroys the storefront, literally hurling himself through the glass windows in a senseless rage that can only be described as primal.
Jonathan Majors stars in ‘Magazine Dreams’. Photo: Briarcliff Entertainment.
As we find out from the doctor that treats Killian after that incident (which oddly – in one of the movie’s strange lapses of logic – does not end up with Killian behind bars for even one night), he is wrecking his body with the steroids he takes to achieve his physical goals (he’s obsessed with the size of his deltoids, which one judge a while back told him were too small). He’s also decimating his mind: “I control my emotions, my emotions don’t control me,” he tells himself at one point, which is about as far away from the truth as even his delusional imagination can handle.
But Killian is clearly a figure who also deserves our empathy: as a large Black man who can clearly intimidate people, he’s already isolated from normal social interaction to a certain extent, which writer-director Elijah Bynum emphasizes in subtle yet pointed ways (one customer in the supermarket apologizes to him for no discernible reason after she catches him glancing at her). On top of that, his haunted past, his search for human connection of any kind – which leads him to both his labored attempt at romance and his obsession with fame and celebrity culture – and the punishment he puts himself through all lead him down the same dark path we’ve seen in films like ‘Taxi Driver, ‘You Were Never Really Here,’ and ‘Nightcrawler.’
(L to R) Jonathan Majors and Elijah Bynum on the set of ‘Magazine Dreams’. Photo: Briarcliff Entertainment.
Bynum’s film doesn’t quite travel to the same conclusions as any of those, and as ‘Magazine Dreams’ rolls on, there’s a certain repetitive nature to the narrative that kicks in. The repercussions of some of Killian’s actions are never made quite clear, and during the movie’s third act we begin to wonder how much of what’s happening is real and how much is occurring in his head. After the excruciatingly intense realism of the earlier parts of the film, this more surreal final stretch isn’t quite as effective, and the ambiguous way in which ‘Magazine Dreams’ ends doesn’t match the power of the rest of the film.
Despite its flawed structure, this is still a provocative film to watch, and a striking one as well: Bynum and cinematographer Adam Arkapaw have crafted a beautiful succession of images, often casting Killian in deep blues and reds to indicate his emotional wavelength while capturing every gleaming striation of the formidable physiques of him and other bodybuilders. Jason Hill’s original score complements this quite well, as do the passages of both classical music and screaming death metal that accentuate certain scenes – the latter effectively deployed as Killian races in his car to enact his wrath on the paint shop. The production design also captures the drab, rundown nature of Killian’s world, from the empty, staring windows of defunct businesses to the sweaty, kaleidoscopic club at which Killian finds himself one night, dancing frenziedly among others who have no idea of the human timebomb in their midst.
Cast and Performances
(L to R) Haley Bennett and Jonathan Majors in ‘Magazine Dreams’. Photo: Briarcliff Entertainment.
The supporting cast here is effective in what are truly minor roles: Haley Bennett brings a tentative grace to the role of Jessie, while Harrison Page delivers an exhausted, wounded dignity to William – a scene in which he gives some long-overdue comfort to his grandson stands out for its vulnerability. Elsewhere, Harriet Sansom Harris is a natural as the therapist that Killian sees, listening to him and encouraging him even as she knows he’s probably lying to her, while Taylour Paige is more or less wasted as a sex worker with whom Killian has an ultimately pointless encounter.
But let’s face it: this movie is pretty much a one-hander, and Majors – for whom this movie would have followed earlier triumphs like ‘Creed III,’ ‘Lovecraft Country,’ and ‘The Harder They Fall’ – dominates the screen for the entire two-hour running time, much of which he spends alone. Not only did the actor clearly sculpt his own body into the tortured form that passes for excellence in bodybuilding, but he brings an intensity to Killian’s volatile nature that is often as frightening and unpredictable as it is uncomfortable to watch. He’s in many ways a truly tragic figure, and Majors also brings his pain, loneliness, and sadness to light in a way that is both electrifying and moving. While ‘Magazine Dreams’ and Majors’ portrayal are both extreme in many ways, Killian’s broken nature is not.
Final Thoughts
Jonathan Majors stars in ‘Magazine Dreams’. Photo: Briarcliff Entertainment.
The release of ‘Magazine Dreams’ brings up a question that has bedeviled society for almost a decade in the wake of #MeToo and its cultural impact: can people pay their debt to society, be forgiven as a result, and resume their lives and careers? There’s no definitive answer to that, and in a way, the movie itself echoes those concerns: can a person climb out of an abyss that’s at least partially self-imposed, achieve peace, and find a way to flourish in the world?
The resolution is ultimately as uncertain for Killian Maddox as it is for the actor who portrays him, and on a moviegoing level, the age-old dilemma of separating the art from the artist is fully in play here. But if you can do that, ‘Magazine Dreams’ is a flawed, somewhat shaky, yet spellbinding experience that encapsulates the loneliness of living in a world where aspirations, connection, and serenity often elude our grasp.
Aspiring bodybuilder Killian Maddox struggles to find human connection in this exploration of celebrity and violence. Nothing deters him from his fiercely protected… Read the Plot
What is the plot of ‘Magazine Dreams’?
A lonely, deeply troubled aspiring bodybuilder (Jonathan Majors) pursues his dreams of fame and celebrity while also looking for human connection. But the damage he’s doing to both his body and psyche soon lead him to spiral down a dark, rage-fueled path.
Who is in the cast of ‘Magazine Dreams’?
- Jonathan Majors as Killian Maddox
- Haley Bennett as Jessie
- Harrison Page as William Lattimore
- Harriet Sansom Harris as Patricia Waldron
- Taylour Paige as Pink Coat
- Mike O’Hearn as Brad Vanderhorn
Jonathan Majors stars in ‘Magazine Dreams’. Photo: Briarcliff Entertainment.
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