Following its premiere, the movie received largely mixed reviews but most critics were quick to heap praise on the performance given by its star, Jonathan Majors. It was subsequently picked up by Searchlight Pictures,

Two years ago, prior to Jonathan Majors being arrested for assault and harassment of his former girlfriend, the actor's movie Magazine Dreams was a critical hit. Reviews praised the actor as "a revelation" who was Oscar-bound for his "astonishing lead performance" as Killian Maddox,

Jonathan Majors stars in writer-director Elijah Bynum’s intensely affecting film about a man whose bulging muscles mask a struggling psyche.