TIFF ’16 Reviews: Buster’s Mal Heart
Like many others nowadays, I am a fan of Rami Malek. Last night, he won an Emmy for his role in the critical hit TV series Mr. Robot, where he plays Elliot Alderson — a reclusive hacker who deals with a number of mental health issues. While I could (and will, at a future point) go on about that show and what it means to me to see the topic of mental illness being brought to the forefront, this review will focus on another recent work of Malek’s.
Remember the Y2K scare? Come the year 2000, all computers would crash and the world would be thrown into chaos. Buster’s Mal Heart is set partially in the run-up to this expected collapse, and in the run-of-the-mill present day because, as we all know, nothing really happened that New Year’s Eve. Over the course of the movie, we are given pieces of information that eventually come together in a puzzle-like reveal of the circumstances that took an ordinary hotel worker and family man and made him into someone else — an eccentric mountain man who survives the winters by breaking into empty vacation homes, or maybe a drifter lost at sea. The film deals with the idea of self and choice, and invites your interpretation.
Rami Malek has shot to fame via Mr Robot, but he had proved his acting prowess even before that, and continues to do so. I can’t wait to see what he does next. He carries this movie expertly, managing both the low-key and the high intensity scenes, and the cast of co-stars fills in the right blanks. This is the second feature from director Sarah Adina Smith, and I can only hope that I’ll manage something similarily captivating if I ever get to make movies.
This is definitely a movie I will have to watch again to really wrap my head around it, but I enjoyed it. It might not suit everyone, but if you’re the type who enjoys enigmatic stories, Buster’s Mal Heart might be for you. The scenery is breathtaking, there is no superfluous dialogue, and the movie invites you to simply sit back and take it in — and then the thoughts and theories hit you once you’re out of the cinema. No kidding — I woke up the next day with a realisation that straightened the story out for me a little more. It’s why I’ve taken the weekend to contemplate, and put off writing this review (I saw the movie on Friday). It comes together piece by piece, a story that keeps you engaged even after you leave the darkness of the theatre.
All in all, I’d recommend you watch it. If you’re into fast-paced movies, this might not be for you, but if you want a story to ponder over and discuss with others, Buster’s Mal Heart is a good choice. There is no release date past TIFF yet, but hopefully it will become available to watch sooner rather than later.
