Buster's Mal Heart (2017)

What a weird movie. And that is not just because of the time line, but because of the main character and his .. well way to "freedom" I guess. It really is messy and I'm not just talking about his "future" self, that seems to have gone a different path than his former self. And we do jump back and forth, which makes the movie more interesting. I imagine having our main character be in one mindset for a longer period of time - that might have taken some of the tension out of the movie and make it boring (dare I say?).The central performance is amazing. Also DJ Qualls really surprised me, being quite humorless and just being as serious as possible. In a good way that is, in case I wasn't clear. And that is what makes the movie really enticing, but you really have to have patience ...

I watched this movie not knowing what I was getting into at all. I had seen the trailer and I mainly just decided to watch it because I stumbled upon it and seeing Rami Malek as the lead made me excited.First of all I was very intrigued by the cinematography and the minimalistic setup of the otherwise pretty complex plot. I found the balance between the 3 timelines working very well with the flow of the film. I was surprised when I had to pause at one point and realized I was already half through, feeling like I had only just started it!It uses the same kinds of twists as seen before in works like The Matrix, Fight Club and American Psycho and Malek's performance is fairly parallel to what is seen in another of his leads, in Mr Robot. I do, however, think that these parallels work in favor of the movie.It also comes with Biblical parallels which I found very interesting. Where I think it faulted was when it at times became a bit too obvious for me. I would have liked it to be a little more subtle with the Bible references which is mainly what docked it from a perfect score for me.

Everybody, well almost everybody, needs a job. We need money, food, shelter, some gizmos, maybe get laid once in a while. This movie proves my point. People make movies like this because they need the money, the exposure, the opportunity or just to hang in the industry. Outsiders and newbies have to break in somehow. Other people with money want to give it to people with an idea for a movie. They all come together, work for a while, money gets passed through the industry jobs and bingo! out pops … something. Maybe good, mostly mediocre, occasionally amazingly incoherent and bad. Guess where this movie lands? Yes, thats right. Amazingly bad. But it fulfilled its deeper purpose of keeping the Industry Wheels turning. And people had jobs for a while. So I give it two stars because even crud like this keeps the industry alive.

On the whole, there just wasn't enough happening in this film to keep it interesting. For the most part, the development of the story is slow on uneventful. As we plod through the aspects of Buster's life we see it unfold from two sometimes three perspectives. Most of what happens doesn't benefit the story in any way and really should have ended up on the cutting room floor.Even the premise that centres the story for our main character Buster is shaky and 'out there'. It's not explored, expanded or explained in any more depth than when it is initially encountered, so never really gains traction as a focal point for the film. Its really the story of a bum living on the edge because the pressure placed on him from trying to support a family in a difficult situation. There is plenty of meaningless symbolism, especially once you get two thirds in, that does little to shed any light on the story or provide any additional interest.I think this is yet another one of those self indulgent productions born from a good basic idea, that was under prepared, underdeveloped, and hastily assembled through lack of clarity and objectivity.One of the unfortunate developments of modern film making is that any idiot with a few bob and a HD camera can now make a film. Modern technology and the digital age has opened up the creative market such that many with little more than an ounce of self proclaimed talent can make a film. This is good in some ways as certainly those with potential have an avenue into film making that was previously open only to those with financial backing, contacts, or deep pockets. The flip side is that it opens the doors to wannabe film makers who have no business releasing half baked content. The checks and balances that kept such releases from swamping our screens have been replaced by a highway of freedom for every man and his dog to flood us with Sub par releases that aren't worth the devices they're filmed on... but I digress.The Acting is actually quite good, and the direction (I think) is also half decent. I think its maybe the producer/writer, who just hasn't really given the story enough meat to cover the bones of the production, which is a bit of a shame really because (as we so often hear) it has at least 'some' potential.That said, it isn't half bad. You could certainly do a lot worse with an hour and a half to spare.