Manodrome

Bon film !

Bon film !

Bon film !

This was a Complete waste of my time , I thought with the cast of actors in it , That it was going to be worth watching. I will not speak of this movie again, Nor will I recommend it to anyone EVER. IT made no since what's so ever, Now you can try and say it had Artistic relevance. Trust me it DIDN'T. This movie isn't going to find and audience, Believe me NO one will be singing its praise at all . What they will say is , Stay away from it and definitely don't talk about it or Suggest it to anyone. This movie will go quickly into the might once and for all. I can't believe that the it was ever a thought Period.

Women are evil. They abandon their children. Men are evil. They abandon their children. Those children grow up abandoned and feel hopeless. But they are not completely abandoned. There is open arms for Ralphie! He joins a new atheist cult and they celibate dudes, Adrien Brody 's nice house, fireplace, talking about when they left their wives. Some of them are clearly gay. Poor Ralphie. Ralphie's got a pregnant girl at home and sex isn't working anymore. Very disturbing. Very anti-priesthood and priesthood at the same time. Homosexuality is there. Antisocial. Anti-parent. Anti-family. Feels like a Chuck Palahniuk written film that got made. Recommend for disturbing film fans. Flavors of Fight Club, Taxi Driver here. Liked it. But its tough. Watch with the family.

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.

A suffocating, frustrating and nearly empty experience that leave audiences baffled with its weirdness and mystery rather than feeling intrigued with what it proposes and criticises, "Manodrome" was certainly one of the most disappointing experiences of the year. But I guess one can deposit much hopes for a film like this, except for having the usually effective presences of Jesse Eisenberg and Adrien Brody, and even though they do not disappoint, the script a confusing and lost thing while trying to enlight viewers about the pressures faced by men in the 21st century and how they cope with such existential problems. The Eisenberg character is 30/40-ish guy who recently lost his job, now working as an Uber driver, of which he hates it and he's quite erratic while conducting his business; and he also has a girlfriend (Odessa Young) who is pregnant and somewhat this is a relationship he didn't want to have. The only fulfillment he has comes through massive exercises at the gym, where he can release some of his fury and anger through training. But he'll get a second revelation when he's introduced to a guru (Brody) who helps men like Eisenberg to quit what's troubling them and focus on whom they want to be and what they really want from life. It's those basically self-help teaching like "the power is within you, you just have to believe it and change your way of thinking". However, this guru doesn't a book to sell. Instead, his focus comes in making a sort of cult group where men live together, help together, don't have any contact with women, practically leaving their girlfriends or wives for good. And in this sheltered world, there's a hierarchy of dads and sons with the more experience you gather. Too bad that the leading man keeps going back and forth while joining them because it'd be interesting to see the dark side of such group or how positive it actually is in helping them find their path in life. Movies like this tend to built suspense when the whole apparent perfect world collapses with phony realities and some danger along the way. We didn't get to this bit here. But on the other hand, as Brody's character fuels more and more trust into Eisenberg, the more the new follower will descent into madness and dangerous behavior, to the point of aggression, stonewalling the only person who cared for him, or even following his most secret desires. He reaches that, accomplishes that ultimate inner desire - problem is that we don't get to see if there was any sense of fulfillment, so throughout the whole film this character is a sufferer of chronic insatisfaction and he'll never feel as if accomplishing things. That famous Thoreau quote about men's lives would fit in here, except that our main character later on becomes a loud desperation act. Way too enigmatic with its concerns and situations, very jumpy at parts, "Manodrome" doesn't satisfy us with anything, it just leaves us more confused and thoughtful into thinking about the secret of a fulfilled life, how to remove the drama from one's reality and find possible satisfying solutions, or if following the massive internet gurus/self-help experts could be useful or not. The wiser of us in the audience will keep asking those questions, but it's not as saying the movie opened up to this discussion in a philosophic manner. It was all rubbish, slightly tense and unexpected but hardly rewarding and with some negative messages (with the character, not the group). For the curious of minds, it's worth seeing Jesse Eisenberg doing something completely different from his routine. He entered some darker inner corners, with lots of angry and madness. He lets it all out, unlike the usual anxious fast-talkers he plays (it's basically himself, but I don't blame him at all. I like it). It was quite different to see, showing some range though I hated the character for a great part of the movie. Other than him, there isn't much that can absorbed from this movie. 4/10.

It has the feel of Fight Club but by far has lost itself in a film that you wait for a punch but it never comes. There was no surprise at the ending, the acting could be a ten but the storyline spares none of the performances , I'm a huge fan of both Jesse Eisenberg and Adrian Brody that brought about the most disappointing of all. I even wish I could say the film had any kind of potential but no go. Brody's performance as god was a stick man with a soft guy with nothing else overcomes the soft guy personality. If you watch this prepare yourself for a let down and maybe spare yourself the disappointment and watch something more promising!

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.

I can definitely understand the difficulty a lot of people have had with wrapping their minds around this story, everything about this movie is in total contrast to everything that we're being taught and indoctrinated with in contemporary Western culture. Men are not supposed to be in control, men are not supposed to be independent, men are not supposed to be their own people, men are supposed to obey, be obedient, and be submissive. The celibacy aspect of this story was fascinating what a lot of people don't seem to realize is that most women in America are just not sexual beings anymore and many men live lives of unwilling celibacy so the concept of guys willingly renouncing sex who is rather fascinating and a social phenomena that needs to be explored. I could see a lot of woman being put off by this film and justifiably so, it does threaten the position that they hold so dear. That of big boss. I know man who aren't even allowed to carry cash anymore they make the excuse that they use their credit card because it's easier for them to keep track of expenses but in reality the lack of cash is a form of emasculation. The cultish aspect of this story was a difficult thing to find a level of comfort with, but the basic movie was a rather interesting story, that needs to be talked about, and needs to be considered. 'Me too" has created an extreme society. Toxic masculinity is the mantra of the day. Men are definitely being left behind by the millions, and most men don't even realize how extremely emasculated they are. What made the film a bit bizarre is that it seemed like his girlfriend was a very decent person, not a Pinkett like dragon queen or a particularly difficult person. So most of his problems seem to be internal. Having said all that the movie was very convoluted, the central character's personality was beyond bizarre, and the ending was wholly unsatisfying. This was not a good movie, but it's a very important theme that needs to be explored.