Cancelled. A word that used to be associated with a mode of transport not going anywhere, an event sadly not taking place etc.

In recent years it has been hijacked by certain media outlets to label stars and celebrities falling from grace, in terms of the end of their career by their own means.

One such star ‘cancelled’ has been Jonathan Majors. His career took off with his striking role in the highly praised 2020 HBO show Lovecraft Country. It then went to outshine Michael B. Jordan in Creed 3, then taking a prominent baddie role in the MCU, playing Kang the Conqueror Ant-Man and the Wasp Quantumania.

It was in 2023 that Majors was arrested on assault, strangulation and harassment charges towards his then partner. The same year, incidentally, this film was scheduled to be released. He was eventually found guilty of one of the lesser charges, which saw him sentenced for a year on a domestic violence program and probation. But the damage was done, with the media’s ‘cancelled’ sentence probably being damaging, where both this film and his career were concerned.

It’s only this year it gets to see the light of day, and is further testament to his talent.

Living at home with his grandfather (Harrison Page) is Killian Maddox (Majors). It’s hard work as his ‘paw-paw’ is a Vietnam veteran suffering from medical issues, with Killian his carer.

On top of that he works three days a week in a local grocery store to bring some money in. He has a dream though – an obsession – of being the best body builder, punishing his body with exercise and steroids to make the cut.

He pushes himself too far though, unhinging himself in the process, with the path ahead of him becoming all too troubling.

This was the second film written and directed by Elijah Bynum, after his 2017 debut (Hot Summer Nights) starred someone called Timothée Chalemet, and it certainly has a punch.

Much of this is down to Majors, who is mesmerising, playing a character physical strong yet mentally fragile. Killian is timid and socially awkward, but has a volcano of violence deep within, that can rage spectacularly when provoked. Considering what Majors was going through in his personal life with his own rage erupting in public, you can imagine he tapped into that for this role. And how.

His tour de force, Oscar nomination-worthy performance can detract from Bynum’s direction, which is breathtakingly stunning; he captures the vulnerability in Killian majestically on screen, in a film that could be considered this generation’s Taxi Driver. It is an emotionally draining experience, majestically crafted and told with such subtlety and intelligence in its storytelling.

One scene, for instance, has Killian get out of a car confronted by some men; as he gets out, the camera remains in it, representing the audience as a powerless passenger, who can only witness the scene from within the vehicle. It’s an unconventional method of creating such a scene, but is an elegant execution of one.

And yet, it’s likely to fall between the cracks, admittedly of Majors’ own doing, and go mainly unnoticed, which would be the biggest crime here.

Some may struggle, knowing what Majors has done in his personal life which may sour one’s opinion of him, but when you consider the antics of Trump as president – and the irony of his re-election, they pale into insignificance by comparison.

There may well be a comeback, or de-cancelling, for Majors, as he’s currently in pre-production from all these events and projects of 2023, starring in the upcoming Merciless, directed by Martin Villeneuve (brother of Denis). And on this performance alone, he deserves it.

Perhaps that this film’s poor performance, with an alleged box office of just over a million, is a creative penance of sorts for Majors, both with his incredible physical transformation and heartbreaking emotional journey, and although a commercial failure, it has everything intact for it to be seriously considered a modern classic. Outstanding.