Magazine Dreams did the festival circuit in 2023. During that time, the film was lauded, and the lead, Jonathan Majors, was celebrated for his incredible performance as bodybuilder, Killian Maddox. Due to Majors’s assault allegations and the subsequent actor’s strike of 2023, Magazine Dreams was shelved. With a new distributor, Magazine Dreams will see the light of day, but the controversy involving its leading actor may dim the shine that this movie should have.
The movie centers around Killian Maddox, who lives and supports his grandfather, William Lattimore (Harrison Page), while working shifts at a grocery store and competing in bodybuilding competitions. The audience is shown that Killian has not had an easy life and is attending therapy due to past transgressions. His therapist, Patricia Waldron (Harriet Sansom Harris), mentions what he has done in the past and wants him to find some solace in his life. Killian is portrayed as a loner whose only interest is lifting weights, but that passion hinders him from becoming a complete person.
Kilian’s character feels stunted in interactions with those around him. While talking to Jessie (Haley Bennett), the co-worker with whom he has feelings for, his conversation is awkward and cumbersome. You feel his uneasiness in these moments and wonder about his mental ability to have normal interactions with people. Majors excels in being both fragile and masculine in this movie. In trying to be like his bodybuilding idol, Brad Vanderhorn (Michael O’Hearn), Killian pushes himself in the gym but also uses substances to help him gain muscle. The often talked about “roid rage” rears its head in several moments in the movie and helps the viewer in knowing why he has court-mandated therapy sessions.
The side-story of Killian writing to Vanderhorn, feels like an extended version of “Stan” by Eminem, due to Killian reading the letters via voice-over. Although Killian has his grandfather, he is looking for a father figure or someone to be friends with, and this is where Vanderhorn comes in. He does not talk to others during workouts and only focuses on his reps. There is a moment when he does have the chance to share something with someone, but his oversharing and awkward delivery make the person feel uncomfortable.
The bodybuilding competitions in the film are interesting to see portrayed. It is during these moments that Killian feels alive. The filming of these scenes is reminiscent of the way cars are shot in commercials. Sleek camera angles highlight muscle groups on the body as the judge calls out poses for the men to perform. Their muscles pop out of their bodies as they pose to accumulate the most points to proceed. Majors’ body resembles a Greek statue in how it’s chiseled and looks almost God-like for this role.
The final act of the movie takes a scary turn as we see Killian buy multiple guns to enact revenge on those who did not believe in him. The film is not afraid to show the audience how Killian is slowly losing his sense of reality due to various incidents that have occurred to him throughout the movie. It is in these moments that we see the brilliance of Majors’ performance and why this role could have led to multiple award nominations. Being unaware of what will happen to Killian keeps the audience glued to the screen until the final moments.
Final Thoughts: Magazine Dreams is a character study of how far someone will go for their dreams and the dangers of these goals. The movie’s shadowed look gives the viewer a feeling of dread as you fear where the movie will lead. Killian Maddox is a lost soul who needs some guidance, and as a viewer, you hope he gets it before it is too late. Director/writer Elijah Bynum gives us a brilliant, surreal, and haunting story about obsession.
Kid-Friendly: The movie is more of a cautionary tale of what not to do to achieve your goals. I would recommend this for kids 16 and up due to the harsh scenes of “roid rage” and the language used in the movie.
Violence: Again, the scenes where the steroids control Killian’s emotions are pretty violent. There is also a scene of Killian being beaten by a group of men and gun violence.
Killian Maddox is consumed by his dream of becoming a world famous bodybuilder and one day gracing 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.