Buster's Mal Heart (2016) Reviews

• Takes time to fully understand

  hannahkimberly2017-08-10

  This is a visually striking film with an amazing plot. It took some time for me to fully understand this film but once you understand it, it will stick with you for a long time. Rami Malek's performance is flawless and minimalistic. If you're obsessed with filmmaking and cinematography you will appreciate this to its full potential.

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• Gifts are Costly

  thirtyfivestories2017-09-22

  Jonah works third shift at a hotel. He cleans the pool, retrieves rackets from the racquetball court, and polishes off the restaurant's dishes. He is a utility man. Jonah toils in the belly of working class employment. He has voluntarily allowed himself to be swallowed by capitalism. His days and nights have become shuffled. A wife and daughter fuel this purgatory. Marty, Jonah's wife, was the first soul to accept his junkie heart. At a church food pantry she served him then invited him into the kitchen for a kiss. Jonah's reformation began there. Marty's parents never approved, but their child, Roxy, gave the couple a hefty bargaining chip. Jonah becomes rehabilitated and pretends to fear God on Sundays. But he never needed a pew. He needed a cabin, or dreams of a cabin. A home to raise Roxy in, void of the putrid society that delivered him into the clutches of drugs, and imprisoned Marty in the legalistic jaws of religion. He crawls into another state of servitude in hopes of eventual freedom. The still, twilight hours perpetuate his daydreams. On one fateful evening, The Last Free Man walks in and preaches of the Inversion. An event that will usher in the collapse of all things restrictive. All digital identities erased. A clean slate. And few will survive, only those privy to the coming seduction. Jonah begins to reluctantly entertain the man, but quickly starts sipping his kool- aid. The seemingly endless road to his family's cabin leads Jonah into more impending delusions. Instead of being preached at, he chooses to become a prophet. He becomes Buster, a lock-picking mountain goat. He politely pillages vacation homes that he could only dream to build. He treats the vacant homeowners with respect, but finds ways to subtly rebuke. Buster and Jonah are the same man on two different paths. The former, a man who denies tragedy. The later, the man responsible for tragedy. Buster's Mal Heart is a film that makes you think twice about who you let in your life. Or maybe the film wants you to stand on trial for all your personal trespasses. Put your hand on the bible and proclaim, "I couldn't see the blood until the lights were on."

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• Well made, but it left things just a little too unexplained for my tastes.

  Hellmant2017-08-23

  'BUSTER'S MAL HEART': Four Stars (Out of Five) An indie mystery about a mentally unstable mountain man, and former family man, who now survives by breaking into empty vacation homes, while he constantly warns others (on talk radio) about an upcoming 'Inversion' at the change of the millennium. It was written and directed by Sarah Adina Smith, and it stars Rami Malek (in his first starring film role), Toby Huss, Kate Lyn Sheil and DJ Qualls. The movie had it's world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival, and it's received mostly positive reviews from critics. I found it to be bizarrely interesting, and for the most part pretty well made, but it also left things just a little too unexplained for my tastes. The film opens with a mountain man, Buster (Malek), desperately trying to escape the authorities that are chasing him. He makes it to the top of a mountain, where the film then flashes back to his past as a family man, with a wife (Sheil) and daughter (Sukha Belle Potter). He also recollects on his time breaking into empty vacation homes, and calling into radio shows ranting about an upcoming 'Inversion' (at the turn of the millennium). Buster also has multiple visions of being lost at sea. As a viewer we have to interpret what's real, what isn't, and when and where it's all taking place. The film is definitely bizarre and interesting, and I was always curious of where it was leading to. I think the acting is good in the film (especially Malek in the lead) and Smith is obviously a very talented filmmaker. I was just hoping for a little more from the conclusion. I don't need everything explained to me in a film, but I don't like everything to be left a question mark either. I'm sure some viewers will think they understand it, but I think most of the film is entirely left up to individual interpretation. If you like that type of movie you'll probably love it, I'm not a huge fan of the genre though. Watch an episode of our movie review show 'MOVIE TALK' at: https://youtu.be/j_XDrmlMJNY

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• Thriller with Depth and Independent Charm

  Raven-19692016-10-07

  Buster is a man walking on the edge of a knife. On the run from the law in the Montana wilderness and fueled by drugs and crackpot theories, Buster breaks into cabins and rants about "the coming inversion" and when things will be turned upside down. He is the "last free man." In flashbacks we piece together events of Buster's shattered life and see glimpses of the person he once was. As a family man named Jonah, he worked hard, went to church, suffered verbally abusive in-laws and co-workers, and followed all the rules. During the night shift at a small town hotel, Jonah encounters a dangerous drifter who has a devastating impact on his life. It begins his transition to Buster. Who Buster really is and who he will turn out to be, is a matter of immense consequence to those Buster has brought into his life. It is a cosmic mistake that he got this far. The film is a cerebral thriller. Part of the vanguard series at the Toronto International Film Festival, an integration of film and art that I love, the film has tremendous depth and independent charm. It includes amazing quotes, immense wit and creativity, Biblical allusions including a nod to the story of Jonah and the whale, and a dreamy puzzle of a plot. It is set mostly in Western Montana and the surreal forests of Western larch and firs. While I loved the plot, storyline and setting, it is a little disjointed and could definitely benefit from a larger budget and the filmmakers getting more experience under their belts. I work for the National Park Service and noticed the characters wearing our uniform askew, but I doubt anyone else will notice or care about the same. A film sound/audio company in the credits should get a prize for their name; Eargasm. LOL! World premiere seen at the 2016 Toronto International Film Festival.

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• Greatest Actor Alive Right Now!

  debrahnava-524962018-12-01

  There isn't any role Rami can't play! I want him to play Prince. Being a hard-core longtime Prince fam - I feel only Rami would do him the justice Prince deserves! Rami has the ability to inhabit a role which is of course what a great actor does!