Buster's Mal Heart

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Alfred B SPOILER WARNING: This review contains spoilers for the 2016 film "Buster's Mal Heart." "Buster's Mal Heart" is a film that presents itself as a deep, surreal dive into a fracturing psyche, but its convoluted, pretentious narrative ultimately serves to reinforce harmful stereotypes about mental illness. It’s a stumbling story disguised as a mind-bending masterpiece, where every confusing twist and turn feels less like artistic brilliance and more like a lazy attempt to mystify the audience. The film’s greatest failure is its inability to connect its abstract ideas to the harsh realities of human experience, leaving a feeling of profound emptiness and a sense that it's just a cheap, disingenuous imitation of a meaningful story. A False and Confused Portrayal of Reality and Mental Illness The film operates under the pretense of exploring the psychological unraveling of a man, Jonah, under the pressures of modern life. However, its portrayal of his breakdown is both bizarre and divorced from reality. His descent into psychosis, marked by visions and delusions, is presented as a kind of prophetic "awakening" or a spiritual journey to escape the "system." The film confusingly blends mental illness with spiritual or cosmic forces, suggesting that his break from reality is not a medical issue but a sign that he is a "visionary" or a "rebel." This is a dangerous and deeply irresponsible idea. It romanticizes mental illness, painting it as a gateway to some higher truth rather than a debilitating and painful condition that requires care and understanding. In real life, a man suffering from severe sleep deprivation, a stressful job, and a strained family life does not spontaneously transform into a homeless prophet with an existential mission. He suffers from a genuine, medical crisis. The film's narrative choice to make Jonah’s delusions literal—the "Last Free Man" being a supernatural agent, the "Inversion" being a real, looming event—adds a layer of fantasy that completely invalidates any potential for a realistic or empathetic portrayal of his struggle. This isn't a film about a man losing his mind; it's a film that uses the concept of mental illness as a cheap, aesthetic device to create a trippy, surreal atmosphere. The Stigma Reinforcement and Story Collapse By blurring the lines between mental illness and cosmic destiny, "Buster's Mal Heart" reinforces the very stigma it purports to explore. It validates the idea that those who "break" with reality are not sick, but instead are fundamentally different or even "special." This is a profoundly harmful message that isolates those who suffer from mental illness and makes their condition seem like an abstract, unapproachable phenomenon rather than a universal human vulnerability. The film's refusal to offer any grounded psychological context for Jonah's actions leaves the audience with a profound sense of confusion, not insight. The story, built on a series of non-linear flashbacks and dream sequences, ultimately collapses under the weight of its own ambition. The "big reveal"—that Buster's reality is a hallucination of a man lost at sea, or that the man he spoke to wasn't real—is less a moment of enlightenment and more an admission that the film has been a series of narrative tricks all along. The cleverness of the plot structure cannot hide the fact that there is no emotional truth at its core. It's a hollow, frustrating experience that uses the tragedy of a man's life as a puzzle box, sacrificing genuine human connection for a convoluted plot that ultimately feels like a complete waste of time. Rated 0.5/5 Stars •  Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars 08/24/25 Full Review Mark M All these reviews saying the movie was far out, confusing, etc. Does no one see that this is a retelling of ‘Jonah and the Whale?’ Sheesh - it’s not that hard. Anyway, engaging story that I found relatable. Good acting. And not difficult to follow if you have half a brain and pay attention. Rated 4/5 Stars •  Rated 4 out of 5 stars 08/07/25 Full Review Regina P I'm a huge fan of Rami Malek's acting. I could watch him act in anything. His acting is just mesmerizing to me. I hope Hollywood gives him more roles. This was good. I wasn't crazy about it, but Rami always shows up to work. He did his part. Rated 3/5 Stars •  Rated 3 out of 5 stars 02/14/24 Full Review jim d As a fan of Rami Malek and slow, brooding movies, I really wanted to like this one. Unfortunately there just isn't much that's compelling here. Rated 2/5 Stars •  Rated 2 out of 5 stars 03/31/23 Full Review ronald h "Buster's Mal Heart" will infuriate some viewers, annoy others, delight others, and generate quite a few Google "explanations." It's incoherent yet coherent. It's not filmed sequentially, yet it has a cohesive feel. Rami Malek plays Jonas / Buster in alternating scenes of the same man at different points in his life—or more precisely, in his head. He's a man split in two. One of him is Jonas, a caring family man who works as a hotel concierge and lives with his in-laws so he and his wife can save money for a piece of property and someday live a simple, independent life. The other is Buster, a wild-eyed, bearded mountain man who breaks into vacation homes, eating people's food and sleeping in their beds. Malek also plays a third character in dreamlike sequences, symbolically adrift in a rowboat in the middle of the ocean. This film is absolutely bursting with symbolism, much of it biblical. It raises more questions than it answers. It doesn't proceed in a linear fashion from beginning to end. You just watch and absorb. This review has been deliberately obscure in terms of details. That's because it's impossible to describe. Personally, I was drawn into it, and I think most thoughtful viewers will be, too. The rest of you—Well, you're probably better off sticking with the usual Hollywood fare. Sarah Adina Smith is to be congratulated for making such an audacious and weird film. Rated 4/5 Stars •  Rated 4 out of 5 stars 03/30/23 Full Review tony h A bit discontinuous, but they may improve with a second viewing?! Rated 3.5/5 Stars •  Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 03/31/23 Full Review Read all reviews

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