AIFF 2013: Don Jon

Joseph Gordon-Levitt's directorial debut is as charming as he is. 

     

Levitt plays Jon, a young man who has organised his life in a very specific way. He owns a place and a car, he meets his family regularly, he goes to church every Sunday, he goes out with his boys every night and every single night he goes home with a different beautiful girl. But nothing compares to the bliss he experiences when he sits in front of the computer to watch pornography. This daily routine of his has created some false expectations when it comes to his sexual relationships. Everything is objectified and especially women, so that's the reason why he can't feel attached to anyone and why he never feels satisfied except when he's looking at the computer screen. His slight obsession with porn is brought to light when he meets Barbara (Scarlett Johansson), a perfect 10, who makes his life a bit complicated. Barbara comes at a time in Jon's life when he has just decided to pursue something more than meaningless sex and that's when he starts questioning his choices and asks himself "what is really wrong with watching porn every day?"

       Don Jon's characters are all addicted to something. Jon's father (Tony Danza) watches too much TV, his sister texts constantly - even at church-, his girlfriend watches -almost exclusively- romantic films and a fellow student at his university (Julianne Moore) smokes pot. They all have their own demons to face, but it is Jon that makes the longest journey. His obsession creates problems bigger than what he imagines and his inability to connect to others and lose himself in a relationship of any kind -even his relationship with his family is shallow- is a result of today's world that depends a little too much on the visual side of things. 

      Confident, fun, and even emotional at times, Don Jon is a victorious satire of our shallow society. Joseph Gordon-Levitt manages to comment on this dysfanctional world of ours with a nice film that may not get too deep but makes its audience laugh and gets its point across successfully. Good job, Joseph!

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