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 a wild ride where we follow the subtlies of a quiet "average" man who meets the wrong people at the right time causing a pressure cooker situation. People saying the film was null of meaning may need some self reflection, the movie clearly nods at what is to come early on and the leads erratic behaviour shows how the pressure guides his choices. The film is the sad, violent and lonely story of a man who because of his upbringing was never able to express himself and now he's invited to open up and influenced into taking matters into his own hands, but his emotions have boiled over in ways he cannot understand nor control before it's too late.

I'm sorry, Jesse Eisenberg was the wrong person to play this part. He ain't hard enough for it! Shia LaBeouf would have knocked this out of the park! Perfect guy for a film like this. This does have a sharp message in it, although, it's almost too real for the times we are in now. Our leaders have become toxic and their followers manic and frothing at the mouth for acceptance, no matter where it comes from. This film, although creepy but is still a good representation of some of the pressure our young people are under these days, sprinkle Mascagni, and a sparse of mental illness, and you have a bomb looking for a reason to explode!

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.

Eisenberg and Brody are great actors, and are also great here. Eisenberg portrayed a complex, unpredictable uncomfortable character. It's not like fight club, not about toxic masculinity. It's about a deeply disturbed and shy man who's life is not under control and he gets involved with this group who are supportive and feel themselves outcasts from society, but seems he doesn't even connect with them too well. It's not bloody or excessively violent, though it is a bit dark in places and a few people are shot.

To be honest, it felt very original, but also quite risky from the director. The main character is obviously struggling with some inner demons, but we never find out what that is, and though there are strong hints, the film in many ways felt in-conclusive. In some ways this was good - it's like life; we rarely find easy solutions. There were some unexpected turns of event in the film, and there is a sense of underlying theme of men caring for and feeling the suffering of other men, and the struggle that men have in a society controlled by women's desires and needs. However, it didn't feel like a single story in the end, but more like a snapshot into some messed up kids life as he struggles to deal with his feelings of worthlessness. If it a good movie? It's different, I think it's something that could be studied in a film class, but fundamentally I think many people will find it a little depressing, inconclusive and unsatisfying. I'm glad I watched it, but you're not going to finish the film feeling upbeat or happy.