'Don Jon' review by Captain Raptor

'Don Jon' review by Captain Raptor

I reserve the right to be suspicious of any actor who writes a film which they then star in. I especially reserve the right to be suspicious of an actor who writes and directs a film in which they have numerous sex scenes with a variety of attractive women. Joseph Gordon-Levitt has been one of my favourite and one of the most reliable actors of the past few years, so I was interested to see how well he fared behind the camera as well as in front of it.

A well-earned tip of the hat to Gordon-Levitt for his bravery if nothing else; for making such a challengingly risqué film as his debut and for stepping out of his comfort zone. His performance is up to his usual standard, and he manages to strike a balance that makes his character (picture Mark Wahlberg in Pain & Gain being relocated to the Jersey Shore and you're pretty much there) just likeable enough that we genuinely care what happens to him but enough of a douchebag to let the events of the story unfold. I think that as a director he also did a pretty good job. His use of repetitive sequences and camera angles made a surprisingly strong impact on the film and he manages to coax good performances out of the rest of his cast. As a writer, well, that's more of an issue. It's certainly intelligently written, and there are a few good lines, but the script is definitely lacking some spark, and at times the film felt marginally lifeless. There's nothing explicitly bad about the dialogue, but all the film's best moments come without words - Jon's face when he learns of the concept of 'internet history' is priceless, and Gordon-Levitt's physicality in a more general sense is just brilliant. Whether he's leering at girls by the bar or swaggering through the halls of his gym, he's always totally in control of his character, although I suppose it would be easier to get into a role if you wrote it.

The only pressing issue with Don Jon is that it doesn't quite offer enough. It's neither funny or dramatic enough that either element would be close to substantial when stood alone. There are two things in the film which are truly great: the confession scenes where Jon absolves his sins (where Gordon-Levitt manages to be as close to mature in his writing as one can be in when making jokes about masturbation) and Tony Danza is his role as Jon's loud-mouthed father. Everything else is mostly still functioning, but nothing to write home about. Julianne Moore's performance does feel slightly wasted when some of her dialogue is so overtly preachy that it overrides a lot of the brilliant sarcastic sensibility displayed in the rest of the film, as does the sentimental and idealistic ending, but ultimately there's very little that's wrong with Don Jon, it just never fully takes off.

Don Jon is a very smart film, both in concept and in execution, held together by solid performances from Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Scarlett Johansson, and it truly comes alive when Tony Danza is allowed to brighten up the screen. Some scenes are wickedly clever or just straight-up funny, but there's a pronounced sparsity with the film's drama and the comedic are somewhat inconsistent. Everything that the film tries to do it at least succeeds in, and overall it was completely entertaining and well executed. A promising debut from Gordon-Levitt, I look forward to any future films as well as recommending this one.