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Cult Cinema: Buster's Mal Heart (2016) - Reviewed
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| Courtesy of Well Go USA |
Told in nonlinear fashion cross-cutting freely between past
and present, we happen upon a bearded long-haired scruffy mountain man nicknamed
“Buster” who is evading a police manhunt trying to shoot him down. In between breaking into people’s houses and hiding
out to survive, he frequently calls into radio stations to talk about an
impending inversion set to turn the world and universe inside out. Over time we learn Buster was formerly a
well-to-do hotel concierge named Jonah Cueyatl (Rami Malek) who was a family
man married to Marty (Kate Lyn Sheil) and living with his daughter Roxy and his
mother Pauline (Lin Shaye). One night
after working one too many after-hours shifts, a self-proclaimed computer
engineer who only calls himself “The Last Free Man” (DJ Qualls) happens upon
the hotel who relays a variety of conspiracy theories pointing to an impending
inversion, setting in motion a self-destructive chain reaction in Jonah that
leads to his mountain man rampage.
Somewhat of a character study, somewhat of a science-fiction
odyssey, somewhat of a survival thriller but somehow not really being any of
the three, Sarah Adina Smith’s Buster’s Mal Heart is frankly
uncategorizable. Either a study of
madness or genuinely poking into metaphysical portals, this weird and offbeat clean-cut
turned mountain-man drama-thriller poses more questions than it provides answers
but nevertheless is anchored by a powerful leading performance by Malek who has
the range to be either endearing or chilling.
A bit of a one-man show interspersed with brief interactions with other
characters including the always lanky DJ Qualls as a conspiracy theorist and A
Nightmare on Elm Street legend Lin Shaye, Buster’s Mal Heart however
strange or perplexing things get is grounded by Malek’s chameleonic
performance.
Shot in eighteen days in Kalispell, Montana with portions
filmed in the Glacier National Park and the open ocean by Shaheen Seth, the
look and feel of Buster’s Mal Heart is intended to echo the character’s
own transformation. Key scenes of the
title character in the fancy hotel uniform show the character’s cleanliness
while outdoor scenes of him foraging in the mountains covered in facial hair reflect
his increasingly unpresentable appearance.
The score by electronic artist Mister Squinter is profoundly affecting
including in scenes that are completely unexpected emotional roller
coasters. It goes without saying that
Rami Malek, though surrounded by notable ensemble actors, shoulders the film all
by himself. Exuding paranoia,
desperation and a survival instinct in his eyes as he anticipates a
world-ending event, Malek all but completely inhabits the character from top to
bottom which makes his drastic change from family man to scruffy nomad all the
more tragic.
Produced by female driven film production company
Gamechanger Films and given a limited release by Well Go USA, Buster’s Mal
Heart came and went to positive reception but made a miniscule blip at the
box office. Having seen this film right
before Willem Dafoe’s Inside helped pave the way for that film’s ordeal
as both are debatably exemplar of experimental theater involving one actor
taking center stage. Buster’s Mal
Heart may not clearly tell you what’s going on, if the character like Max
Cohen in Darren Aronofsky’s π is either insane or really onto something
extraordinary, but what it does do is immerse you in the character’s headspace
and worldview so you feel his pain, anxieties and perhaps his madness even if
you don’t completely understand what’s driving it. For those who only know Rami Malek’s work
through Bohemian Rhapsody, the Movie Sleuth invites you to take a look
at one of his lesser known but no less valuable starring roles that helped
usher in one of the silver screen’s most unexpected major talents.
--Andrew Kotwicki
