Review of Don Jon (2013) by Brett C — 24 Jul 2015

Review In A Nutshell:

Joseph Gordon Levitt since 2008 have come in strong, displaying his amazing talent as an actor with each year delivering a something memorable or career defining. Since the beginning of the new century, there seems to be a large surge of actors diving into the directing position, hoping to prove themselves and stand along the lines with the greatest filmmakers of all time; notable ones including Zach Braff, Ben Affleck, George Clooney, Angelina Jolie, Tommy Lee Jones, Ralph Fiennes, and Casey Affleck. Don Jon would mark Levitt's first attempt in sitting behind the camera for a full feature film, and the hype around it, at least how I saw it, was quite high due to his current success as an actor and the film's strong casting choices. Does the film live up to its expectations? Not at first, but by the end, it delivers enough strong qualities to make it an above average feature.

Don Jon tackles the theme of addiction, which is something that have been covered in many films before this, but Levitt keeps it fresh by using an unfamiliar cinematic subject for addiction, pornography. I never expected this film to get so personal in its storytelling as I thought Levitt would simply just want to create a satire of a contemporary issue; instead he allows the film to show many layers of its protagonist, Jon, and comprehensively exploring his emotional and psychological side, sometimes through the use of an inner-monologue. At first, I wasn't as attracted to the character of Jon as he contains the qualities that I usually loathe in a person, someone who is obsessed with physical self-improvement and uses religion as an escape from a guilty conscience. Though in saying this, there are some qualities about him that I do empathise with, and through that I was able to tolerate watching this character come alive on screen. My disappointment with the initial areas of the film was due to its inability to establish a purpose of its story, what was the point of watching his relationship with Barbara? It was not until the when we start to see Julianne Moore's character that events started to come off as engaging, switching from a simple comedy to a more personal yet still light character study and ultimately delivering a conclusion, which may upset some, but symbolically fits strongly with the ideas that Levitt is tackling.

The film doesn't blow anything away at a technical level, but it does bring above average performances from its cast. Joseph Gordon Levitt immerses himself in his own creation, playing a role that feels uncannily familiar to a specific subgroup of contemporary young society. I did wish for Levitt to slightly deviate from reality and project an attribute that make him a unique individual, but aside from this, I was satisfied with what he has brought. Don Jon would actually mark the first time I have seen Scarlett Johansson in a kind-of slutty role, though internally she may not possess a promiscuous quality, she does symbolise perfectly the image that modern women strive for. Johansson wasn't a showstopper in regards to her performance, as she plays it all too safe here, but I cannot deny the choice of her casting was not perfect. Julianne Moore plays a student that also attends the same class as Levitt's character and she plays her role very well. At first I thought her presence in this film was a bit out of place, but by the end of the film I was impressed with what she brought and how Levitt handled her. The rest of the cast plays too small of a role for me to actually criticize their performance, but I do want to point a subtle but impressive performance from Brie Larson who plays a mute almost the entire film, relying mostly on her ability in facial expressions to understand the character.

Don Jon is a good debut from Levitt but sadly did not meet my high expectations. It features strong performances from its actors and it tackles an interesting subject that I felt has been dampened too much in cinema. I do hope that his next film would be far more impressive as this, as I do see the potential.