Magazine Dreams
review by Bobby Blakey
Jonathan Majors was taking Hollywood by storm with appearances in Loki, Ant-Man and the Wasp Quantumania and Creed III to name a few. His next project, Magazine Dreams was getting big buzz before being derailed due to the personal stuff he was dealing with. Now that all of that seems to be behind him, Briarcliff Entertainment snatched the film off the shelf and is finally setting it free into the world. The film co-stars Haley Bennett, Taylour Paige, and Mike O’Hearn from writer/director Elijah Bynum. Could this be the film that brings him back to the forefront or will it fail to find the right pose?
Magazine Dreams follows Killian Maddox who is consumed by his dream of becoming a world-famous bodybuilder and one day graces the cover of fitness magazines. He lives a lonely, regimented life, and his relentless drive for perfection only pushes him deeper towards self-destruction, but beneath his tenacious pursuit of superstardom lies a desperate, aching need for human connection. As he battles both the limits of his physical body and his own inner demons, MAGAZINE DREAMS explores the lengths one man will go in his haunting quest for recognition in a world that often overlooks him.
I knew of all the great accolades the film was getting and that it was a deep dive into a dark place, but it was nothing like I built up in my mind. This is a slow burn dark film that is shining a spotlight on numerous issues in masculinity, obsession, mental health and loss. The story is simple on the surface of Killian’s dream be a famous bodybuilder, but there is so much more here that is brought together by the brilliant performance from Majors.
The supporting cast all do a good job with Bennett being forced into an uncomfortable scene that showcases the struggles Maddox has with connecting with people. In a smaller role is iconic bodybuilder Mike O’Hearn that while not in the film plays an important role to the whole narrative and a pivotal scene to
the direction Maddox goes. The entire film hinges on Majors though who is in every scene and immerses himself in this role physically and emotionally in every way.
Majors goes all in bringing an awkward and uncomfortable persona to this broken and disconnected character. He is channeling something dark to get this character’s persona to where it goes, and it oozes off screen and is often uncomfortable. The performance alone would have sold most of it, but his insane body transformation alone is impressive. He spends a big chunk of the film near naked and the clearly insane amount of work he put into building this physique is impressive all on its own.
This is an Oscar worthy performance that I am afraid will likely get lost in the shuffle throughout the year, but hope it signals a transition for Majors back into the right road of his career. I totally understand if some might not support the film, but it would be a shame for it not to be experienced.
Decide for yourself and check out Magazine Dreams in theaters now from Briarcliff Entertainment.