On May 8, Russian cinemas will start screening the festival sports drama "Magazine Dreams," telling about dreams, disappointments, and the high price of ambition. More about the film caught in the whirlwind of consequences of its main star's scandal...

Killian Maddox (Jonathan Majors) is a bodybuilder who dreams of fame and making the cover of specialized magazines. To achieve his goal, Killian trains hard every day, eats right, and takes steroids that severely harm his health, but the goal of becoming a champion outweighs the reasons to stop. He lives with his Vietnam War veteran grandfather in a ghetto where violent crimes occur daily, and to buy decent food, Maddox has to drive ten kilometers to the store. The hero is also tormented by bouts of uncontrollable aggression, and he sees a psychologist to get his personal life in order.

Every evening, Killian writes letters to Brad Vanderhorn (Michael O'Hearn), his idol and bodybuilding champion. But he doesn't reply for a long time. Killian considers himself his biggest fan, which he openly admits in his messages. One day, fortune finally smiles on him, and answering a phone call, Maddox hears Brad's voice, who suggests they meet. But this meeting will not end well.

The film "Magazine Dreams" was released back in 2023. It was shown in January at the Sundance Festival, but almost immediately after the premiere, the film was shelved. The reason was the scandal surrounding the lead actor, Jonathan Majors.

At the start of filming, the actor's career was rapidly gaining momentum: Disney studio signed a multi-year contract with him for the MCU, where he was to become the supervillain against whom the Avengers would unite. Majors managed to star in two seasons of the series , as well as in the film "Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania." However, after allegations of physical abuse against his ex-wife were brought against Majors, studios, advertisers, and his agency turned away from him. And yet "Magazine Dreams" could have been a triumph and won several prestigious awards in the season before last, if Jonathan hadn't ruined everything himself.

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Killian, despite his external brutality and masculinity, is a very constrained and vulnerable person inside. Having somehow invited a girl he likes (Haley Bennett) on a date to a restaurant, he can't even hold an interesting conversation. All the hero's communication boils down to extremely fanatical approaches to sports and achievement, which clearly scares and repels others, revealing his inability to communicate normally.

Of course, it's impossible to completely abstract from the scandal story, but if you try to set aside the context, you can discern several nuances in Majors' performance that vividly demonstrate his acting abilities. He managed to convey the emotional complexity of the character, his difficult fate, inner tragedy, public shyness, and mental disorder. It's clear that the actor did a tremendous job and possesses real talent.

The film was written and directed by Elijah Bynum, who previously directed the crime melodrama "Hot Summer Nights" with Timothée Chalamet . His new film feels inspired by Martin Scorsese's "Taxi Driver." The director uses similar neo-noir long takes and the ringing music of composer Jason Hill (who wrote soundtracks for the series "Mindhunter" and ) to convey the inner anxiety and tension of the main character. Subsequently, the viewer seems to find themselves in the protagonist's shoes, feeling sympathy for him and his emotional state, but not agreeing to share his views.

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In addition to the unenviable distribution fate, the film may be hindered by the understatement with which the author leaves viewers at the final credits. Neither subtle morality, nor an afterword, nor a general conclusion from the story should be expected, leaving impressions slightly blurred. Nevertheless, for the sake of the integral character embodied by the failed celebrity Jonathan Majors, it's still worth watching the film.

"Magazine Dreams" is not a banal sports film about overcoming difficulties and achieving success, but a story about the dark sides of personality that can hide behind the scenes. People like Killian Maddox often lack basic support and understanding, and words of criticism can hurt them more than a blow to the face with a baton.