Manodrome

John Trengrove's "Manodrome" is an incel-era update of "Fight Club," a story of an average guy whose inner demons are unleashed when he meets a group of men trying to reclaim their perceived place in the world. "Manodrome" weaves modern themes like the emergence of toxic incels across the internet into a tale of a loner who becomes emboldened by the wrong people, echoing "Taxi Driver" as much as the Chuck Palahniuk classic but failing to tie any of its hot-button issues into a coherent statement or character study. It's a hollow provocation with about as much to say about the human condition as an internet troll who learned a few buzzwords this morning and wants to spew them at somebody to feel superior. The cast gives their all, but the film ultimately has nothing to offer.

Manodrome is an entertaining take on the toxic masculinity. Jesse Eisenberg alongside Adrien Brody and Odessa Young deliver stellar performances, though, the movie takes so many wild turns by the end, it loses some credibility and could even make you laugh, like it did for me.

The idea was there, and the direction was also promising. For the first half of the movie, I could feel what Ralphie, the main character, was going through. The frustration was crystal clear, and Jesse fantastically portrayed a person trying to handle it by himself. Yet, at one point, the density of dramatic scenes and explosive, reckless actions taken by him turned out to just be too much.

Although I must say, while Manodrome didn't exactly work for me, it kept me engaged until the end, thanks to a stellar mix of great acting, music, and cold, almost raw shots.

On top of that, it's a movie that provoked the most different reactions to it. I experienced it at a movie festival in Wroclaw, and during the whole event, no other film sparked so many different opinions. That is why, even though I felt it was decent personally, I think it should be seen if you have the chance.

Jesse Eisenberg at his most physical preformens. Adrien Brody is really an actor of a generation, and for me Odessa Young is a Revelation. But alongside some powerful scenes and well crafted disturbing imagery, it seems that the creator of the film hasn't quite decided where to take the story. And here it falls short of similar masterpieces like Gone Girl or Power of the Dog.

I saw the film at the Haifa Film festival. It was interesting to see the reaction of the audience, including one husband who, ironically, how couldn't stand the film any longer and informed his wife that he would meet her outside. You'll see which scene it happened in.

Is this part of the new wave of filmmaking that features protagonists who don't know what they want, and have no goal? Do things happen in this movie? Sure, lot's of things that make no sense whatsoever because the protagonist is a malformed character who basically functions as a broken robot for whoever wrote this. Is he human? Sure. Does he act like any human being ever has? Probably not. Do we care enough about him to want him to succeed? Succeed at what? All he does is meander around making one terrible decision after another as if he had no backbone or even the intelligence of a parrot.

I'll never understand how stuff like this gets greenlit.

In dark dramatic thriller "Manodrome" troubled East-Coast blue-collar gym-rat Jesse Eisenberg (excllent - and ripped, as never seen before) struggles to cope mentally & financially with losing his job while girlfriend Odessa Young is nine months pregnant - and his psychological state sure ain't calmed by falling in with Adrien Brody's mysoginistic cult (with the likes of Ethan Suplee) that sparks him into rapidly spiralling volatility & violence. In his first US film, South African writer/director John Trengove packs a raw punch, with originality (while drawing inspiration from great movies like "Taxi Driver" & "Fight Club"). It'll not be for all, but is well worth seeing.