Buster's Mal Heart - Blu-ray Review

[Michael Scott]

Buster's Mal Heart

Movie:
Video:
Audio:
Extras:
Final Score: ​

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Movie

I was immediately drawn to Buster’s Mal Heart just from the fact that Rami Malek was starring in it. I was first introduced to Rami with Universal studio’s release of Mr. Robot as a fantastic breakout show of paranoia and cyber security thriller alongside Christian Slater. At the same time I was also slightly hesitant, as Well Go USA is mainly known for their Asian films that they release, and the western audience films on their slate usually turn out very subpar. Little did I know what I was getting into when I started watching, but the more I actually watched, the more fascinated I became. Right off the bat I’m going to tell you that Buster’s Mal Heart is NOT going to be for everyone. It has a decidedly David Lynch flair that delves into the topic of “what is real?” and blends it in with a severe case of art house drama. I have to admit that even portions of the movie eluded me and were a bit “out there”, but the clues and hints are left along the way, leading up to a bittersweet ending that is both satisfying and confusing at the same time.

It’s going to be hard to really describe the plot of Buster considering that the movie is made up of three seemingly distinct storylines revolving around Rami Malek. The first is actually the ending of the film, where we see a disheveled Rami Malek stumbling towards an ever darkening forest with a shotgun, and being chased by a cadre of police officers and other members of a veritable posse. Then we flash back to a 10 days earlier where we see an even MORE disheveled Rami Malek being revealed as a crack pot mountain man named called Buster. It seems that he goes from vacation home to vacation home, breaking in and surviving the winter in abandoned rich vacation homes until the summer comes and he shifts into the mountains of Montana. He has achieved the name “Buster” by calling in to conspiracy theory type talk shows and going off on rants about the end of the world and such to the point where even the conspiracy theory nuts laugh at him and call him “Buster”.

We’re simultaneously flitting back and forth from Buster’s storyline to what we BELIEVE was his previous life as a sane person. There he’s a man named Jonas, who is working a brutal night shift job at a hotel while he dreams of spending time with lovely wife and daughter, only to be frustrated by not being able to cope with the stress of staying up all night and TRYING to sleep during the day (no small feat I must say, as I’ve had to pull graveyard before). This subsection of the film is much more cohesive and “thriller” oriented, as Jonas is set against a crazy conspiracy theorist (played by DJ Qualls) who leads him down a dark and soul sucking path that culminates in a horrific twist about halfway through the movie.

Much of the film plays out as very short vignettes, that flit back and forth between Buster and Jonas, as well as a few scenes where he is out in the middle of the ocean cursing God and begging him to kill him. On the surface you might think that Buster’s Mal Heart is devoid of any cohesion, but as the film passes Sarah Adina Smith slowly lays the clues for what is to come, and even though it doesn’t spell it out for you, puts together a puzzle that slowly begins to make sense. All before stripping it out from under you and having the audience re-evaluate everything they thought throughout. At first it seems obvious that we are seeing two different time lines. One where Jonas was a mild-mannered concierge at a hotel before tragedy drives him away from society and into Buster, but the constant glimpses of the man on the boat (not to mention the ending) opens up a new story. A story where we see the fractured psyche of a man slowly crumbling as he tries to cope inside of his own failing mind.

There’s many theories about Buster and many avenues that one could go down, but the “choose your own ending” that I’m taking comes in the form of a man LITERALLY losing his mind fracturing. If you look very closely at what’s going on it becomes extremely obvious, especially the last “boat” scene where they discuss being in the belly of the whale (Ironic with Jonas being his name). Now, I’ll leave you to form your own conclusions, but I have to say had this been in the hands of a lesser director, the convoluted hints and clues could easily have been lost to the winds and we would have been left with “arthouse for the sake of being arthouse”. A genre that I’m usually very picky about as too many times directors get TOO esoteric for their own good. Buster’s Mal Heart has you constantly looking for answers, and constantly going back and re-watching portions of the film just to glean a few more tidbits before movie on. A movie that ACTUALLY makes you think about it.




Rating:

Unrated by the MPAA




Video:

Shot in 2.39:1 framed scope, Well Go USA delivers a fantastic looking image for the Blu-ray disc that seems to come from a digital source. I couldn’t find any information about WHAT cameras were used, but it very obviously has that digital gloss to it, with no discernable film grain or to give it that distinctive flair of film stock. The image is decidedly crisp and clean, excellent detailing from beginning to end as well as some very unique color grading depending on the scene. When Buster is out in the wild it’s much more natural, with bright blues and soft earthy browns from the houses he’s staying in, while when we’re with Jonas there is sickly yellow hue that covers the entire picture. Black levels maintain a healthy balance with fine detail, and there was only a couple of instances where banding cropped up. The most magnificent shots are when we see the Montana landscape as Buster runs from the cops, or when he’s rustling from house to house in the mountains. It’s a fantastic looking Blu-ray, and the banding is about the only thing that keeps this from a perfect picture.








Audio:

The 5.1 DTS-HD MA track is a very capable track that allows the drama to have both moments of quiet and submissive audio mixing, coupled with bursts of energy that allow the 6 channels to throb with energy (especially the opening and closing shots of the movie). Dialog is always crisp and clear, with Malek’s monotone voice breaking the creepy silence with a dull tone, or the panicked and sharp vocals of DJ Qualls ranting and raving about the bug in the system. The surrounds tend to be rather laid back for most of the film, but those opening and closing shots (along with a small cadre of other short lived scenes) bring out the LFE and the ambient noise with aplomb.






Extras:

• Deleted Scenes
• Teaser
• Trailer

Final Score: ​

Like I said at the beginning of the review, Buster’s Mal Heart is not going to be for everyone. The bizarre nature of the “bad dream” structure of the film is not your typical 3 act story. Even I had some problems keeping up with all of the twists and turns of the fractured storytelling. Even at the end I’m left with just as many questions as I had BEFORE the movie started, but I actually really love that. Even though it tends to keep it’s cards a little too close to the vest, I immensely enjoyed all of the carefully laid clues and hints that director/writer Sarah Adina Smith left for the audiences to pick up on the real meaning of Buster/Jonas’s adventure. I know for a fact that I’m going to be watching this one several more times over the upcoming months just to see if I can glean any more tidbits of information out of the film, as it just begs being watched multiple times. While I fully admit that it’s not going to be a mainstream film that appeals to everyone, I do highly recommend at least checking it out and seeing for yourself what pearls can be found.
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Technical Specifications:

Starring: Rami Malek, DJ Qualls, Kate Lyn Shell
Directed by: Sarah Adina Smith
Written by: Sarah Adina Smith
Aspect Ratio: 2.39:1 AVC
Audio: English: DTS-HD MA 5.1
Studio: Well Go USA
Rated: NR
Runtime: 97 Minutes
Blu-ray Release Date: July 18th, 2017

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• Michael Scott
• May 11, 2017

Recommendation: Worth Checking Out

 

[Michael Scott]

On July 18, Well Go USA Entertainment offers fans who purchase a Blu-ray™ copy of BUSTER’S MAL HEART the opportunity to personalize their copy with two additional versions of box art. Writer/Director Sarah Adina Smith (The Midnight Swim) created new box art to offer fans as an alternate to the mass-produced art. The alternate box art is available for free download off the Well Go website (http://wellgousa.com/press/busters-mal-heart).

“Sarah Adina Smith created two eye-catching original graphics for the home entertainment release of BUSTER’S MAL HEART,” said Well Go CEO Doris Pfardrescher. “Unfortunately, due to time constraints, we were not able to consider the alternate art for mass production, but since the images Sarah created are so striking, would like to offer them to fans as a unique collectable.”

Fans can download and print the full-color art on 11”x14” paper, cut it to size and insert it into their Blu-ray packaging, giving them a unique piece of box art for BUSTER’S MAL HEART.

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• Michael Scott
• Jul 19, 2017

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• Michael Scott
• Jul 19, 2017

 

[tripplej]

Thanks for the review. I never heard of this movie. After reading and looking at the trailer, this is one I will have to look at once it is available on Amazon prime and/or netflix.

 

[Todd Anderson]

Mike - This one has my curiosity. Looks interesting!