Movie Review: Jonathan Majors plays a man on the edge in the dark drama ‘Magazine Dreams’
Movie Review: Jonathan Majors plays a man on the edge in the dark drama ‘Magazine Dreams’
There’s rage simmering inside Killian Maddox, the amateur bodybuilder portrayed by Jonathan Majors at the heart of the dark and stylized film “Magazine Dreams.”
It’s a kind of “Taxi Driver” for the incel age, a harrowing portrait of untreated mental illness, violence, false idols, steroids and male loneliness. There was, from the beginning, lots to discuss and debate in the fabric of “Magazine Dreams.” But in the two years since it debuted at the Sundance Film Festival, it was also eclipsed by the very real-life travails of its star, who was convicted of assaulting his former girlfriend.
In January 2023, “Magazine Dreams” had an exciting future with Oscar hopes for Majors. Searchlight Pictures won the distribution rights, reportedly over the likes of Neon and Sony Pictures Classics. And Majors was skyrocketing to the top, with big roles in “Creed III” and as Marvel’s new main villain, Kang. But two months later, he was arrested. By that December, Majors was found guilty of one misdemeanor assault charge and one harassment violation and fired by Marvel. A month later, “Magazine Dreams” was without distribution. Majors has, throughout it all, maintained his innocence.
The film was eventually picked up by Briarcliff Entertainment, the same distributor who jumped in to release the young Donald Trump movie “The Apprentice” after the rest of the entertainment business shied away from it. “The Apprentice” went on to get Oscar nominations for its two stars.
But there’s a different kind of stigma around “Magazine Dreams,” which is why this review has also been a bit eclipsed by what’s happened in Majors’ life. It’s a film about a man teetering on the edge of violence, about the relentless pursuit of greatness — and it is deeply uncomfortable watching his descent.
His simplistic devotion to one wild goal may be his undoing in a world that just doesn’t care about him. This is not the movie that any public relations professional would choose as a “comeback role.” Yet it’s impossible to deny the monumental ferocity of Majors’ performance, from his full transformation to his unsettling ability to show the pain behind (most of) the psychotic actions.
Killian’s life is nothing glamorous: He works in a grocery store and at home cares for his aging grandfather. But he has an intense, maniacal need to be seen and to be remembered. And the only way he’s figured out how to achieve that is through physical perfection — or at least his very narrow idea. Success is a magazine cover, which he naively conflates with immortality.
When co-worker Jessie (Haley Bennett, who does a lot with a small, somewhat thankless role) agrees to go out on a date with him, he is genuinely shocked that she isn’t familiar with his bodybuilding idol, saying something to the effect of “you need to get out more.”
Writer-director Elijah Bynum effectively imbues his film with stylized intensity. You feel uneasy and captivated from the start, though you try to give Killian the benefit of the doubt — to look for his goodness, to root for his success, if only for the hope that it might keep him docile for a little longer. Though we’re told early that he’s had violent episodes, through his court-ordered therapist, the glass isn’t fully shattered until Jessie starts to process that Killian is someone she needs to get away from, fast. This is notably after he orders perhaps $500 worth of protein on the date, just for himself. Sadly, we don’t get to see the bill.
While “Magazine Dreams” is an interesting character study, one many actors would love to play for all its dramatic opportunities, it also seems crafted entirely to provoke and shock — especially in the almost unbearably bleak final hour. After two viewings, one of which I had to take a break from during one of his violent outbursts, I’m not actually sure what it’s trying to say about men, about trauma, about ‘roid rage. Killian seems less like an authentic person and more a simplistic stand-in for the forgotten person, the quiet weirdo who ends up a mass killer.
And yet as movies are being accused of being too straightforward, too moralistic, too simple, perhaps some ambiguity, some discomfort, some unresolved unpleasantness is overdue. Majors is a force, and Bynum is certainly a director to watch. The question with “Magazine Dreams,” which was the same in January 2023 as it is in March 2025 is: Will anyone?
“Magazine Dreams,” a Briarcliff Entertainment release in theaters Friday, is rated R by the Motion Picture Association for “violent content, drug use, sexual material, nudity and language.” Running time: 104 minutes. Two and a half stars out of four.
By LINDSEY BAHR
AP Film Writer
