Magazine Dreams (2023)★ 7.3/10

Never meet your idols is what I got from this movie.

At what point does a dream become an obsession? Is a dream an obsession to begin with, or does it become an obsession when you start chipping away at who you are? MAGAZINE DREAMS explores these questions through a character study about a very mentally disturbed individual. Jonathan Majors plays Killian Madox, a socially awkward bodybuilder striving to be on the cover of a magazine and be the new Mr. Olympia. This movie is reminiscent of TAXI DRIVER, showing the slow descent of a character who is both fascinating and volatile. Through the entire movie, Killian can blow up at any second, which makes the experience so tense and stressful. There are many feelings that the audience could feel towards a character like this, from fearful to pity. My one problem is with the last act.
It becomes more disturbing and frustrating as it goes. It could’ve ended three or four different times, making it feel like it didn’t know how to end. Despite that, I can confidently say this movie would’ve made Jonathan Majors an Oscar-nominated actor. The stars were aligned for him, but his self-destructiveness in his personal life dearly cost him in his professional life, at least for now. If you can separate the artist from the man himself, go see MAGAZINE DREAMS, even though it’s a difficult watch.