Magazine Dreamsis the kind of film that people preface with a paragraph. Suffice it to say, it was filmed a few years ago and is only now coming to theaters after two complicated years in which its star,Jonathan Majors, underwent a PR crisis in full view of the gossiping public. Whatever you say about that situation, it has undoubtedly become clear that the Yale graduate has given one of the rare great performances of all time in the new dramatic thriller. He plays a deeply unbalanced man with a tragic life and a desperate pursuit to become a famous bodybuilder, dreams which we watch fade away as his life is swept up in anger, mental illness, and violence.MovieWeb spoke with Majorsleading up to the release of his new film, which is now in theaters, and asked what it was like to discuss it after everything that’s happened to him.
“It’s kind of surreal,” explained Majors, regarding our modern-day interview about a role he filmed years ago beforeMarvel unceremoniously parted ways with the actor. “And also pretty confronting and challenging. And I’m happy about that, like, it’s healing. It would have been really easy to put the movie out and hide, but to be in front of it and to talk about the film and to talk about my journey as an individual, in addition to the journey of the film, you know, it’s not a dull moment. It’s therapeutic, it’s really deep work, sitting here and talking to you guys and being seen.”
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Rage, Loneliness, and ‘Magazine Dreams’
With many people seeing Majors' character, Killian Maddux, as a modern-day incel mix of Travis Bickle and the Joker, MovieWeb was curious if he sawMagazine Dreamsas a kind of dark warning to society about the ramifications of neglecting male loneliness and male rage.
I think male loneliness might be a prerequisite to male rage, right? I think the thing is, they don’t necessarily go hand in hand — they go one before the other.
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“I hope that it is an examination of human beings in general, right? I guess we highlight the male and masculinity, but the thing runs throughout. Killian is not the only lonely one in the film, right? The girl at the grocery store, played by Haley Bennett — incredible. The sex worker, played by Taylour Paige — incredible. You know, even the coke addict in the bar.” Majors continued:
“I mean, all these people are extremely lonely, and loneliness is the prerequisite to enter the destructive quality in time, adjective, verb, excuse me, right. Like all of that is there, you know? And it is an opportunity for us as a society to look at what it is we’re doing when we’re not paying attention to each other, when we’re not connecting to each other, because there are repercussions for that, you know, individual and societal.”
Magazine Dreamsis now in theaters from Briarcliff Entertainment.
Magazine Dreams
