Berlin Review: Jesse Eisenberg In John Trengrove’s ‘Manodrome’
deadline.comThere’s a rich history of movies being entirely at odds with their cryptic titles—step forward Quantum of Solace—but for his follow-up to The Wound, South African director John Trengrove has picked a doozy, a title that sounds more like a dystopian Adam Sandler comedy than the dour story of urban disintegration that it actually is.
Images of star Jesse Eisenberg sporting a mop of red hair for the film have been also something of a misdirect, perhaps giving some the impression that Manodrome, which premiered in Competition at the Berlin Film Festival, could be some kind of satirical emo Fight Club for sad-sacks.
Fight Club comparisons actually do turn out to be (lightly) relevant, as are callbacks to Taxi Driver, but Manodrome is so achingly laborious and serious that it won’t be encroaching on either for virtual shelf space in the Toxic Masculinity section of anyone’s streaming library.
This seriousness takes some time to bed in, since it’s so serious, you don’t think it could possibly be that serious. Eisenberg plays Ralphie, a New York Uber driver who is dealing with a life change: his partner, Sal (Odessa Young), is pregnant, and the bills are getting harder and harder to pay, especially with Christmas approaching.
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