drama, film festivals, Haley Bennett, Harriet Sansom Harris, Harrison Page, Jonathan Majors, Magazine Dreams, Michael O'Hearn, movies, reviews, Sundance, Sundance Film Festival, Taylour Paige
March 20, 2025
by Carla Hay
Directed by Elijah Bynum
Culture Representation: Taking place in California, the dramatic film “Magazine Dreams” features a predominantly white group of people (with some African Americans) representing the working-class and middle-class.
Culture Clash: An aspiring bodybuilder goes on a downward spiral in his mental health and physical health.
Culture Audience: “Magazine Dreams” will appeal primarily to people who are fans of the movie’s headliners and intense psychological movies about athletes and fame obsession.
Judging this movie only on its cinematic merits—and not the controversy surrounding the movie—“Magazine Dreams” has a well-acted and harrowing but flawed portrait of an aspiring bodybuilder in a mental health crisis. This is not a “feel good” sports movie. The subject matter is disturbing and depressing. But there’s no denying that it’s a riveting movie to watch when it comes to believable performances.
Written and directed by Elijah Bynum, “Magazine Dreams” had its world premiere at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival, where the movie won a U.S. Dramatic Special Jury Award for Creative Vision. Searchlight Pictures was set to release the film later that year. But in December 2023, after a controversial trial, “Magazine Dreams” star Jonathan Majors was convicted of misdemeanor assault and harassment of his ex-girlfriend Grace Jabbari. He was subsequently fired from several projects, dropped by some of his representatives, and Searchlight Pictures canceled its release of “Magazine Dreams.”
Briarcliff Entertainment picked up “Magazine Dreams” for distribution. But the scandals about Majors have undoubtedly tainted the movie’s release, especially since Majors portrays a violent brute in “Magazine Dreams.” The name of Majors’ character in the movie is Killian Maddox, a steroid-abusing, aspiring bodybuilder whose biggest goals are to become Mr. Olympia and to be famous enough to be on magazine covers.
Killian lives with his elderly grandfather William Lattimore (played by Harrison Page), a Vietnam War veteran who has health issues and doesn’t really pay attention to what Killian does. Killian calls his grandfather Papa. William became Killian’s guardian because when Killian was a child, Killian’s father murdered Killian’s mother by gun violence before Killian’s father killed himself.
Killian’s bodybuilding obsession includes his fixation on his idol Brad Vanderhorn (played by Michael O’Hearn), a champion bodybuilder who has the type of fame that Killian wants. Killian writes numerous fan letters to Brad, with Killian asking to meet Brad. Killian’s fan letters to Brad become increasingly desperate and pathetic.
Killian, who is a socially awkward loner, has a job working at a grocery store. He tries to strike up a romance with a co-worker named Jessie (played by Haley Bennett), who eventually sees the unsettling side of Killian. Taylour Paige has a small role as an unnamed sex worker hired by Killian. In the movie’s end credits, this sex worker character is identified as Pink Coat because she’s wearing a pink coat when she meets Killian.
“Magazine Dreams” shows that before this story takes place, Killian had a history of violence. He is under a court order to have psychiatric therapy because of a prior incident that is not seen or described in the movie. Killian shows indications that he’s paranoid when he tells his therapist Patricia Waldon (played by Harriet Sansom Harris) that he’s frustrated about having to drive six miles to the nearest grocery store and says it must be a conspiracy.
“I think they do it on purpose,” Killian says. Patricia asks, “Who’s ‘they,’ Killian?” And it’s possible that Killian could be a paranoid schizophrenic. He denies an earlier statement that he hears voices in his head. However, Killian told another psychiatrist named Dr. Rubin that he’s afraid of his own thoughts.
Killian’s steroid abuse and use of other illegal drugs have put his health in jeopardy, but he doesn’t care. As time goes on, it’s obvious that even if Killian achieved his biggest goals, he’s the type of person who would never be satisfied. There’s an unhappy void in Killian that no amount of accolades and fame can fill.
Unlike many movies about underdog athletes who want to be champions, “Magazine Dreams” does not have a protagonist who is likable. Killian has tantrums that sometimes erupt into criminal violence. The movie implies that this simply isn’t “roid rage” from steroid abuse. Killian appears to have longtime anger issues.
An example of Killian’s irrational rage is shown in a scene where he accuses a local business called George & Sons Hardware & Paint of doing an inadequate paint job for the house owned by Killian’s grandfather. When Killian calls the company to complain, he accuses the company of disrespecting his grandfather, whose previous calls about the same thing were supposedly ignored. Killian snarls to the man he’s talking to on the phone: “I’m going to split your skull open and eat your brains like soup.” Later, Killian shows his violent side during an act of revenge against George & Sons Hardware & Paint.
“Magazine Dreams” is essentially about Killian heading for a major meltdown, in addition to showing the hazards of social isolation combined with an obsession with fame. The ending of “Magazine Dreams” is underwhelming. However, it’s meant to demonstrate that people like Killian who have untreated mental illnesses often want to have lives that roar when the reality is that they often have lives that whimper with excruciating emotional pain.
Briarcliff Entertainment will release “Magazine Dreams” in U.S. cinemas on March 21, 2025. A sneak preview of the movie was shown in U.S. cinemas on March 10, 2025.