Don Jon

Joseph Gordon-Levitt's striking feature film debut may have a significantly smaller scope than it tries to appear, but when it fully flexes all its muscles, it works perfectly. Life truths, however wrapped in seemingly trivial issues of pornography or personal space, are sometimes just a few short sentences away from us. And to put such thoughts on paper, to film them, and even to play the central sixpack character takes courage. (23/12/2014)

Don Jon does not have nice characters, nor does it offer anything that dazzles or inspires. But it is distinctive, it knows what it wants to say and says it honestly and aptly. I applaud Gordon-Levitt for choosing to make this for Sundance festivalgoers and not for the much more numerous (and big-spending) consumers of dime-a-dozen Hollywood romances. (07/11/2013)

A rather icky confession of one generation. In his director’s debut, Don Joe speaks to the masses who sit every night by their computers with a pack of tissues. He paints Scarlett as a tough bitch and we are presented in the right (well, still a bit twisted) light. Nice debut piece. Keep up the good work. (03/01/2014)

A bit too much teen cover, but otherwise it’s a quite interesting probe into a boy's life, or rather thoughts. A classic story at the beginning, which turns into a quite mature and watchable thing over time (with Julianne Moore's arrival on the scene). For a film about Joseph Gordon-Levitt's age, this one is more distinctive than it may seem at first impression. Scarlett Johansson is great again. (16/09/2015)

One of those movies that I could watch until I'm blue in the face just for its heap of delicious life truths. Levitt's personality now seems to be in a very specific phase, where he remains a free-thinking young man masturbating to death, while also being fully aware of all the problems and bitterness that free-thinking and an adult life full of "serious" relationships and different needs involve. As a result, Don Jon is not only a brilliant generational statement where the young prefer casual sex and the family is presented as a group of completely disparate and disconnected people, but also an enjoyable satirical comedy, aptly addressing the unbearable mannerisms of the female population, and disarming in its endearingly frank portrayal of them. The direction cannot be faulted at all, the script is well smart and very original within the genre and all the actors are really enjoying their roles – especially Levitt, who has risen incredibly in my eyes again. I'm even afraid that if I looked as good as him, I'd be living just like Don Jon... :P 85% (19/04/2014)