'Buster's Mal Heart': A Hidden Gem of a Masterpiece

'Buster's Mal Heart' stars Rami Malek in the title role of Buster. I will explain the central plot to the best of my ability, but this is a hard movie to understand. Buster is on the run from the authorities. He hides out in the mountains and stays in people's vacation houses while they are not there. He has constant flashbacks of his past life as a loving father and husband, and visions of his future self being lost at sea. We see that he has an encounter with a man who lives outside the system and warns him of an impending event known as the Inversion.

Honestly, that is the most I want to get into the plot because I do not want to give too much away. This is one of those films in which you will have to watch multiple times, and you still probably will not understand it completely. This movie is told out of order which makes it hard to understand, and explain the plot. It is told from the present Buster's point of view, but jumps to the past Buster and what lead him to live in the mountains. I really enjoyed this movie, so let's get to talking about the positives!

The first positive I want to give to this movie is the lead actor, Rami Malek. He is obviously a great actor, now with an academy award under his belt. He really shines in this film with the different roles he plays. He plays a family man, a homeless man living outside the system, and a man lost at sea. Each of his characters in this movie are different people with different personas, and he portrays them each to a tee. He is a phenomenal actor and if anyone else had portrayed this character the movie would fall flat. He drives this movie forward with his performance.

I also liked the storytelling. Movies like this are usually less popular with the general public because of the way they are told. It is told out of order and can get confusing at times. However, this works for me. It kept me invested in the story and the mystery surrounding Buster. Sara Adina Smith served as both the writer and director on this film, and she did an amazing job at capturing the mystery surrounding Buster and the Inversion event. We do not know what to believe, even after the credits roll.

The mystery around a certain event in the movie is so mind-bending that it will have you thinking about it after the movie ends. Something happens that makes no sense at first. However, if you look back at certain details or things said, it becomes more clear. The central theme in this movie is love vs. freedom. On a second viewing, you can pick up on certain details that makes the ending make a little more sense. I love movies that are so different, and you can watch it multiple times to peel back another layer.

I personally did not have any negatives with this movie. This is one of the movies that I would throw on just to enjoy and find out a little more with every view. However, I could see where a lot of people will find this movie boring and confusing. This movie does not shove the answer right into your face, it leaves it up for the audience to figure out. I think a lot of people will turn their head away from this movie because of that reason.

I did enjoy this movie though, and do not see this as a negative. I could just see how others would see this as so.

In the end, this movie deserves a watch... or two. (You will need that second view). It is strange yet beautiful. The question about whether a person can give up their past life to be happy plays a central role in this movie. Movies like this one are so interesting to me because they pose a question and explore the idea within a character. They do it in such a way that is confusing but intriguing.

I found this movie on Netflix and decided to watch it because of Rami Malek alone. I ended up finding a movie that I genuinely enjoyed. I would compare this movie to Donnie Darko, Mr. Nobody, and Enemy. They explore themes using unique storytelling that gets you thinking and keeps you involved in the story. If you like any of those movies I mentioned, you will love this movie. If you have Netflix, give it a watch, but I promise you will want to watch it again to try to understand more and more.