FILM TITLE: DON JUAN DE MARCO DIRECTOR: JEREMY LEVEN COUNTRY: USA 1995 CINEMATOGRAPHY: RALF BODE MUSIC: MICHAEL KAMEN CAST: Marlon Brando, Johnny Depp, Faye Dunaway, Rachel Ticotin, Bob Dishy, Talisa Soto, Marisa Geraghty, Richard Sarafian SUPER FEATURES: Brando, as usual.
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
This film is ample proof what a first rate actor can do for a film that is basically nothing, to begin with.
Were it not for the subtle, polished, and so very clean work that the two experienced actors in this production show, this film may have otherwise fallen apart. But with Marlon Brando, and Faye Dunaway, this film takes on different proportions, which are rather unusual, and turn what might have been a so- so film into something rather nice to watch, at least for people who have a taste for impeccable acting work.
This is the story of a young man who thinks he is Don Juan, the legendary lover. But he is having problems, he has fallen in love with one particular woman, and he is now living in a mental institution where some doctors are eager to drug up the young man, and put him away. But Dr. Minkler has different thoughts. He engages the young man's trust and takes helps him come through his hard time. In the process the young man affects the doctor's own private life which has become stale.
A simple story, all in all, but by the time you get a hang of both Marlon Brando and Faye Dunaway, as his wife, this film takes on different proportions. And it is their acting that keeps this film going. One doesn't even recognize Faye Dunaway, and it is such a surprise that she is so smooth in this film rather than the showy actress that she has been for so long.
As the story develops the doctor is discovering that his stale marriage is all of a sudden becoming a bit more exciting and that they are starting to enjoy each other a little more... and much of the credit goes to the young man that is on the edge of being instituted. He has an incurable romanticism that is hard to let go, that affects many of the people around him.
It is a pleasure to watch such a magnificent actor in this film do his thing. He is so relaxed, and so well prepared that if forces everyone around him to do that much better. And his relationship with his wife, which appears to be boring at the start, turns out to be a really nice match of actors, that work their way through things rather nicely, and it is a pleasure to watch.
The film is nicely directed with a few touches here and there, and a noticeable lack of close ups so that we do not get so emotionally involved with the young man. With such a great pair of actors around him, it is hard not to enjoy this film.
Excellent acting all the way around
3.5 GIBLOONS Reviewed by Pedro Sena. Internet Movie Critics Association Copyright (c) Pedro Sena 1996. All Rights Reserved.
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