Magazine Dreams

Magazine Dreams is the newest film from writer/director Elijah Bynum, last seen as the co-writer of the Lee Daniels dud, The Deliverance. Here, opting for a cast of much lesser-known actors, and headlined by a magnificently, fully committed Jonathan Majors, Bynum has scored a hit. Centered around a troubled aspiring bodybuilder named Killian Maddox, the film is equal parts Taxi Driver, The Wrestler and One Hour Photo, while being just original enough to maintain interest.

While the film has much to recommend it, from fanciful yet not distracting photography, to a smart, sensitive and sometimes clever screenplay, it is always the performance of Majors, who is in almost every instant of the film, that carries this one. Killian, as played by Majors, feels dangerous, lost, lonely and both explosive and implosive. Suffering from childhood trauma, this is a man who has retreated into fantasies of success, unable to make real connections, and Majors allows us to feel every atom of his ordeal.

In a film that constantly surprises, defying expectations, Majors performance is the steady, singular force at play. He makes the viewer as uncomfortable as those Killian encounters but always maintains a certain humanity. Much like Travis Bickle, of Taxi Driver, Killian is a deeply disturbed person, someone who tries on modes of operation much like most of us try on clothing. The difference with Killian is that his mental state is not entirely the cause of trauma.

Courtesy Briarcliff Entertainment

Instead, the film drops hints at other conflicts. Is he neuro-divergent? Possibly, but this is not presented as a flaw, just as another layer, which is a commendable deed on the part of the writer. He absolutely has little concept of social norms, or how to read other people. Combining this with his anger control issues, and the trauma of his past-which influenced his rage and his need to hone his body-and you have a character that is unlike anything we have seen on screen.

Consider that in The Wrestler, Mickey Rourke’s main character is warned to quit wrestling or face the possibility of death. Here, at the lowest levels of bodybuilding, Killian-who is attempting to gain his professional accreditation-uses steroids along with heavy workouts and a special diet. When a doctor warns him that the steroids he has been trying to bulk up with have caused a variety of health problems, we are faced with a new set of conflicts. His response is both expected and totally consistent with the character we have met.

Courtesy Briarcliff Entertainment

In this way, the film plays to the tropes and cliches of the “sports underdog” genre, but at the same time, it bends and twists them anew. His obsession with a legendary bodybuilder, or his attempt to date a coworker, all take turns into territory we have and have not seen with this type of film. That the film presents this in an almost dreamlike, quasi-documentary fashion, is exceptional. There is a lot of use of deep shadows, and plenty of night scenes. The way Major’s body is photographed shows both the effort and the delusion of the character. The selection of shots and angles, unlike in something such as Les Miserables, does not detract from what one sees.

Everything is in service to the emotional and mental journey of Killian, who is having a very hard time processing what is happening. He cannot always find a clear path, and the socially correct, or safe, choices, are not the ones he is most comfortable or eager to make for himself. You may not precisely root for the guy, but you just might find yourself concerned for him and those around him. When a film can create that sort of empathy in an audience, it should be commended. Highly recommended.

MAGAZINE DREAMS is now playing in theaters