Sundance Film Festival 2023: MAGAZINE DREAMS & FAIR PLAY

The Sundance Film Festival is finally back as an in-person affair, and many critics (myself included) are likely still thankful that a virtual option is being made available for press and industry attendees. But even without experiencing the excitement on the ground, it’s clear that 2023 marks an exciting return to form for the festival. I personally started the festival off with a bang, as both Magazine Dreams and Fair Play are intense exercises in filmmaking.

Magazine Dreams (Elijah Bynum)

Elijah Bynum’s Magazine Dreams is a clinically deranged character study that amps up its intensity to a hard ten, yet somehow bathes in its melancholia to create some semblance of relatability. Enough cannot be said of Jonathan Majors’ all-consuming depiction of a mentally troubled man on fire, which carries the film with thoughtful rigor. He plays Killian Maddox, an aspiring bodybuilder who obsesses over his own physical training, all while battling a slew of inner demons that often manifests as rage and anger. The film itself is a tough watch, and likely won’t appeal to the masses, but is a sure-fire win for dramatic character-driven storytelling.

Despite its intense presentation, Magazine Dreams diverts some of its intensity with Jason Hill’s tender, yet sorrowful, score. The melancholic notes never detach the film from its intense undertones, but offers relief for its audience by creating a tone that’s much more palatable. The music also helps source a sense of empathy for the deeply flawed Killian, who is really a product of tragedy due in part to circumstances not fully under his own control. You can’t help but feel sorry for Killian, especially with Majors’ dynamic interpretation of the character. His transitions between inherent rage and mental fragility feel almost seamless, which is no easy feat.

The film also uses Killian’s ailments as a canvas to pain a clear picture of society’s deficiencies when it comes to supporting those who are marginalized, and it’s these grander statements on modern-day America that really accentuates the power of Bynum’s narrative storytelling. The idea of the American dream and society’s infatuation with physical perfection is hyperbolized in the world of bodybuilding, but Magazine Dreams steps back enough to allow inferences to be made about life in general. It delves into a slew of issues, and while never offering clear solutions, makes poignant observations on how one does (or doesn’t) navigate a broken system.

Jonathan Majors gives a truly mesmerizing performance, and is set to have a very good year ahead of him. Films like the Antman and Creed sequel will certainly heighten his appeal as a household name, but a film like Magazine Dreams helps cement his status as an actor imbued with pure talent. Bynum et al. put everything on the table with Magazine Dreams, and the film will hopefully get the attention it so well deserves.

Fair Play (Chloe Domont)

Using the intensely charged world of high-stakes finance as a backdrop, Fair Play is a surprisingly thrilling relationship drama that tackles gender dynamics in a refreshing way. Playing out like a psychological thriller, Emily (Phoebe Dynevor) and Luke (Alden Ehrenreich) seem to have a perfect life with promising careers at a competitive finance firm. While keeping their affection to one another a secret in order to appease specific workplace policies, their relationship becomes turbulent when a promotion comes up for grabs.

Chloe Domont is strikingly proficient in her feature film debut, creating a film that honestly kept me on the edge of my seat from beginning to end. Fair Play is an astutely observant tale on the harrows of gaslighting, and really highlights the pettiness of male insecurities that often manifest through the workplace, but clearly permeates beyond that. The terrifying aspect of these experiences are channeled through the film’s horror-like stylistic choices. The film never veers into actual horror elements, but tonally, embodies this sense of heightened anxiety that can feel petrifying to watch. It’s a creative choice that aptly reflects how horrifying Emily’s experiences are, both at work and in her personal relationship with Luke.

Dynevor, in particular, really shines in portraying strength in light of both the direct and passive aggressiveness she has to endure. There’s also a number of heated arguments between the couple, and while Ehrenreich is able to hold his own, it’s hard to outmatch Dynevor’s tenuous emotional turmoil. It’s still quite early in the year, but I wouldn’t be surprised if this remained one of my favourite performances of the year by the time December comes around.

Fair Play is also bookended by sexual encounters between Emily and Luke, both of which transpire in very different ways. While the first involves a natural (and uncontrollable) biological phenomenon, the second involves an unfortunate occurrence that should be unnatural and controllable, but often isn’t. Without spoiling any specific details, be assured that these contrasting scenes help illustrate the film’s worldview in a manner that might feel overt, but transpires with subtlety. For a film that really hit the ground running, Fair Play somehow manages to maintain that level of energy and continued to be a force of nature up until the very last scene. It’s one of those films that will (thankfully) stick with me for some time.