Don Jon

The first half hour of this film makes you feel quite uncomfortable, I saw a pre-screening with my girlfriend and It made me feel a little tense as I wasn't able to gauge how she was perceiving what she was watching.

There are a lot of sexually orientated scenes, cut scenes from porn movies, scenes of our protagonist Jon getting off with a hell of a lot of women. Scarlett Johansson's arrival doesn't slow any of this down, despite her being cast in the archetypical female role. That being the girl Jon is going to give up his wicked ways for. I won't spoil how this ultimately pans out. Around this point the humour kicks in and I must say there are quite a few laugh out loud scenes. Jon's relationship with his family in particular and just his strange character in general provide a good comedic vibe.

This film will not be for everybody. Those faint hearted souls who wont be able to stand anything more offensive than the solitary use of the F word, well you guys should certainly pass this by. Overall the F word is used in excess of 120 times in this picture for starters. For me, as the film plays out the sexual cut scenes begin to have more substance. They start to mean more than just the showing of perverse acts, I believe what JGL was trying to show was an insight into how modern day men perceive women and relationships. How expectations are raised by pornography and advertising to create an image that will never be fulfilled in normal life.

In some ways the film ends a bit of a damp squib, despite being an enjoyable ride there is somehow a lack of conviction in the ending. Our 'hero' does see the error of his ways, but it could have been done more convincingly in my opinion. All in all though this is a solid directorial debut from JGL, there seems to be a real pace about the film from beginning to end. The way the dialogue is delivered and the temperament of the characters keeps things running steady and keeps you hooked.

Definite recommendation from me.