MOVIE REVIEW - Don John

Every once in a while there's a movie that you really have to hang in there with to like, or even get.  That is the new racy flick, Don John, a brainchild of Joseph Gordon-Levitt who also stars in it.   He wrote, and produced the movie as well.

This is then story of John, (Levitt) who is a mid-twenties guy from the most average middle class upbringing you can possibly imagine.   He now is a grown up mentally immature "man," who really has no clue about life in general, but women mostly.  He was raised by parents that have the same problem.  John objectifies women and thinks they are simply for sex.  He spends his life picking up young women in bars, sleeping with them and sending them on their way.   He also spends his life watching online porn, which he says in "better than the real thing."  He in short, is a dirt bag dog.  But his extreme naivete bails him out to a degree.

John meets Barbara (Scarlett Johansson).   She is another extreme middle class, beautiful young woman that has her own set of problems.  She and John start dating, but it all goes wrong when John continues his obsessive porn habit.  So John moves on.   He is taking night classes at Barbaras demand, and there he meets Esther, (Julianne Moore.)   Esther is a grown woman 15 years or so older than John.   They start "seeing" each other, sort of.  And she is the first woman that is willing to call out John on his lifestyle, and make him see that he is really not living life at all, but merely going through it.  In an emptry, lonely fashion.   Is there hope and maturity for John?  That is Don John.

First off, this movie is certainly not for everyone.  My feeling is that there have been people all over the country walking out of this movie in the first 15 minutes, because of its exceptionally graphic sexual nature. This movie pulls no punches.  It is decked out with harsh, crude, offensive words and references, bad language, numerous pornographic scenes from the web, and exceptionally personal behavior that may simply be too much for many. This is going be very objectionable for many.  This is NOT a first date movie.

But if you are willing to get through the huge amount of this content, you will find a pretty good story buried in the beginning, that shines through at the end.  You have to hang in there with this.   The characters are well defined, and this story is well written, and even though it's harsh at times. It is a good story that sadly has come to define a certain sect of a new generation of young men, and their attitudes toward young women.

This is told with honesty, maybe too honest for many, some well timed humor and some really good performances.   I thought Johansson was great as the demanding control freak Barbara.  She is very versatile and really branches out to be very attractive of course, but also to be very unattractive at the some time in character.   Well done.   The best thing about this story, is that you really don't know where it is going, and you are wondering where John's journey will take him.   And that is good writing.  You must have to be willing to take it with him.

Don John.   Certainly not for everyone.