Review of Don Jon (2013) by Rhynal R — 16 Feb 2014

Don Jon marks Gordon-Levitt's directional debut of a good movie with talented acting and some hardcore truths. It's a very vulgar movie so it might not be for all, but for those who invest, they'll enjoy it.

It tells the tale of relationships, sex, and love and although the final act drags a little, the movie's interesting enough to keep the pace. Levitt and Johansson steal the show with their performances; Levitt exudes the quintessential male testosterone figure and male like mentality and Johansson exudes the incredibly sexy young woman who wants to mold a man into what she wants.

You see character development only for Jon but I suppose this was the way story was meant to be told. Although Moore has a minor part, she was amazing, as always, in the range of emotions she displays and there's a certain mystery to her character that helped keep her intruiging.

Levitt just has this charm about him that really sells you on his character and his narrations really emulate a humanity in his character. The script is 50/50; there are times when its brilliant but others when it falls flat, but when it does do it right, it does it well.

As said before, it's his directional debut and I have to admit to being impressed with it; the flashy lights; the angle of certain shots and the lighting and even the transitional scenes are just really well done.

Kudos to him. I imagine that this is the beginning of a chain of really great movies as he was also the script writer. It was funny at times but again, the humour's not for everyone as its dry and sarcastic coupled with body language.

Jon's reaction to things that Barbara asks him to do that he doesn't like is honestly astounding and just points to how great of an actor Levitt is, that just from his non-verbal cues, you know what he's thinking.

Secondary characters felt underused and out of place; such as Jon's parents and sister, who incidentally only had one line near the end of the movie that was to lead to an epiphany. If they gave more screen time, maybe that moment would have had more 'oomph', but unfortunately it didn't, at least for me.

The music was also really nice; capturing the appropriate moments. Overall, a really good movie and a fantastic start for Levitt as a director. 8/10.