DON JON

Joseph Gordon-Levitt is one of my all time favourite actors; I have been tracking his career since I was 8 years old and watched 10 Things I Hate About You for the first time. There is just something special about this guy and his acting talent and artistic integrity is second to none. From the gritty anti-hero of Neil McCormick in Mysterious Skin (2004) to the hapless romantic of Tom Hansen ((500) Days of Summer), Gordon-Levitt gives his all in every performance as he effortlessly encompasses each character that he plays with a talent that appears to have no limits.

Me with Joseph Gordon Levitt at the BFI 

Not only is he an incredible actor, he also runs his own production company and shines as an innovative artist and producer. So, with all things considered you can imagine my excitement at the announcement of Don Jon - a film that not only stars Gordon-Levitt, but was written and directed by him too.

Don Jon tells the story of Jon, a New Jersey guy who is so obsessed with pornography that he can't find happiness and satisfaction from a relationship with Barbara (Scarlett Johansson), who ironically holds similarly unrealistic expectations from her exposure to romantic movies.

First of all, Joseph Gordon Levitt's debut as a director is certainly nothing to be sniffed at. With just the right amount of comedic undertones the film has it's fair share of laugh out loud moments through subtle implications rather than a cheesy and in-your-face script. Most of the laughs come through satirical non-verbal moments in a way that doesn't patronize the audience in the same way that some of the bigger comedy movies do. It also has incredible structure; the combination of fast, snappy scenes and elements of repetition only add to the humour and quickly builds your connection to the story and character development. You get a real sense of Jon's routine and personality within the first ten minutes of the film's opening and it only grows as each scene transitions, with no scene lingering any longer than necessary.

Fit for Jersey Shore!

As expected the performances are strong and Gordon-Levitt is once again transformed into an entirely new character in the form of beefcake, church-loving, family-orientated stud. Likewise, Scarlett Johansson gives Barbara both the sass and sexiness required as both leads convincingly picked up the New Jersey accent and mannerisms that would have had them easily fit into the cast of Jersey Shore.

The concept of the film was both interesting and entertaining; a male's fascination with pornography isn't a topic that I have previously seen so honestly and casually discussed in a film before and juxtaposing it with the way romantic movies distort women's expectations of relationships was very cleverly done. Jon is a believable character that isn't tainted by Hollywood ideals and expectations, which I believe is a result of Joseph Gordon Levitt's refusal to succumb to the typical, unbelievable conventions.

The storyline wasn't as predictable as I thought it would be, especially for a relatively light-hearted comedy, and although I welcomed the direction that the film was going I couldn't help but feel like the final conclusion was a little rushed. Towards the last third of the movie I feel like the narrative began to suffer as there wasn't enough time devoted to the turn around in Jon's character. The credits started rolling almost out of nowhere and there was a lot more that we could have seen in terms of how the characters developed in order to reach the final scene. A character which had previously held a whole lot of realism suddenly seemed a little too quick to be 'cured' and this was something that Gordon-Levitt definitely could have dug a little deeper with.

In conclusion, this is a really enjoyable film. I had sky-high expectations which were probably impossible to have been met but all things considered, Joseph Gordon-Levitt came pretty close. Don Jon did slightly falter towards the end in terms of the script but it is a great comedy with brilliant performances all round; the film's greatest strength and the real comedic genius is ultimately a result of how well-directed it is, giving Joseph Gordon Levitt an incredibly strong directorial debut that proves he is just as talented and comfortable behind the camera as he is in front of it.

★★★★☆

Don Jon is out nationwide from this Friday, the 15th November!

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Love,

LOVELACE

The real Linda Lovelace

The story of 1970s porn icon Linda Lovelace has always fascinated me. At just 22 she became the face of the sexual revolution as her explicit pornographic film Deep Throat flew to the top of the mainstream box office and catapulted her to fame and celebrity status. However, 6 years later Linda Lovelace released her autobiography 'Ordeal', which revealed the far from liberated truth behind the scenes of her pornographic career, at the hands of her abusive and controlling husband Chuck Traynor.

Aesthetically, Lovelace is beautiful. Set in the 1970s there is a grainy feel to the film that gives a sense of authenticity and the bright colours, groovy soundtrack and classic retro fashion (I need to get me a pair of velvet dungarees!) made the film a joy to watch with a hint of old-time nostalgia. As the film starts it is clearly hellbent on representing Linda as your typical girl next door and it is really interesting to watch how her relationship with Chuck Traynor develops as she gradually transitions from her parent's darling girl to the star of the most popular pornographic film in history.

I was wary of how Linda's descent into the porn industry would be portrayed due to some of the cynicism that revolves around her tell-all book (which was proven true by polygraph tests). I was worried that the film would just portray her as a stupid little girl who was fully in control of her decision to be involved with the film, however, the representation of Lovelace throughout is compassionate, honest and above all sympathetic - showing her in the light that I feel she truly deserved to be shown in.

Amanda Seyfried is beautiful as Lovelace

I was also apprehensive of Amanda Seyfried taking the starring role as I am not the biggest fan of her previous films; she also hasn't really played such a complex or dark role before and I did have my doubts as to whether or not she would be able to pull it off. However, with her freshly dyed brunette hair and adorable freckles she simply dazzled as sweet, fresh-faced Linda Lovelace as she gave an out-of-this World performance that showcased every side of the character. The way she morphed from an electric, innocent but fun girl to the dead-behind-the-eyes, angst-ridden woman was incredible and there is one particular scene where hardly any words are spoken yet the audience are able to pinpoint the exact moment of Linda's utter resignation as she realises that there is no hope for her to be saved. This is a standout part of both the film and Seyfried's acting career so far for me as her performance of this particular, highly-poignant moment almost drew me to tears.

I heart Big.. I mean Chris Noth

The supporting cast is also incredibly strong; Peter Sarsgaad slips with frightening ease into the role of the horrific Chuck Traynor, James Franco has a  minor role as the young Hugh Hefner and The OC's Adam Brody plays Linda Lovelace's onscreen porn partner Harry Reems with an innocent charm. It was Chris Noth who stole the show for me though, as one of Deep Throat's producers Anthony Romano. I may be biased due to an excessive love of Sex and the City (of which Noth plays playboy lothario Big) but I just find Noth's onscreen presence overwhelming and even with little dialogue he effortlessly steals the scenes that he is in with a cool and comforting warmth.

Despite the stronger-than-expected performances and the great story of which the film's directors had to work with, the overall execution of the film was disappointing and a bit flat. Even though I admit i probably know more about the Lovelace story than many, the basic premise of the film that most people going to watch the film would know and is mentioned in every synopsis is the fact that she was abused and controlled by Traynor. However, the film itself only implies a minor form of abuse to start with before showing the full story in a kind of flashback format, I expect that this would be very hard-hitting and have a strong impact on those who didn't know anything about the story - for others it just slows down the pace and gave it a bit of a disjointed feel. Despite that some parts were still quite disturbing and uncomfortable to watch, it just didn't have as strong an impact as I expected.

I also feel like for an 18 certificate film about porn, abuse and violence it was relatively tame in what it showed. Most significantly with the level of violence; don't get me wrong, I was personally happy to not be shown anything more graphic than I was as I find this kind of abuse very unpleasant to watch and sometimes it is the more implicit hints that have the hardest impact. However, there isn't really anything that warrants the high certificate that it got and it is the certificate that I found misleading as it heightened expectations for the film and I was prepared for something the complete opposite of what I got. Ultimately, Lovelace is a film about a horribly disturbing true life experience but it has a kind of bubblegum, vanilla essence to it, as though the filmmakers were too scared to go all the way with a truly dark and gritty story that will do Linda's actual experiences justice.

The true story of Linda Lovelace has been screaming out to cinema for years and the premise alone was already the making of an incredible, hard-hitting and powerful film. Sadly, it fell into the wrong hands and even a strong and talented cast were not enough to revive the film's potential - leaving us with a good albeit underwhelming watch that I will probably have forgotten about by tomorrow.

All in all I award Lovelace with ★★★☆☆

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Love,