DON JUAN DEMARCO
A film review by James Berardinelli
Copyright 1995 James Berardinelli
RATING (0 TO 10): 7.5
U.S. Availability: general release 4/7/95 Running Length: MPAA Classification: PG-13 (Mature themes, nudity, profanity)
Starring: Marlon Brando, Johnny Depp, Faye Dunaway, Rachel Ticotin, Bob Dishy, Geraldine Pailhas Director: Jeremy Leven Producers: Francis Ford Coppola, Fred Fuchs, and Patrick Palmer Screenplay: Jeremy Leven Cinematography: Ralf Bode Music: Michael Kamen Released by New Line Cinema
Over the past fifteen years, Marlon Brando (ON THE WATERFRONT, LAST TANGO IN PARIS, THE GODFATHER) has been mostly absent from the screen. With the exception of a few small parts--some good (A DRY WHITE SEASON, THE FRESHMAN) and some terrible (CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS: THE DISCOVERY)-- the man once hailed as the greatest American actor has eschewed leading roles. Until now, that is. With DON JUAN DEMARCO, Brando is attempting something of a minor comeback.
The title character, a modern day Don Juan (with the Italian last name of DeMarco), is played by Johnny Depp. At the age of 21, he claims to have made love to more than 1500 women. He has been rejected only once, by the enchanting and innocent Ana (Geraldine Pailhas), but, as is so often the case, she was "the only one who really mattered." So, with no possibility of a life with his true love, Don Juan decides to kill himself. He climbs high atop a billboard and demands that the police send him the greatest living swordfighter so he can die in a duel. What he gets instead is Dr. Jack Mickler (Marlon Brando), a massively- overweight, near-to-retirement psychiatrist who pretends to be Don Octavio de Flores and talks Don Juan down from his perch. Then, at Woodhaven State Hospital, where the young man is temporarily held, Jack petitions his boss (Bob Dishy) for the right to supervise the newcomer's treatment.
DON JUAN DEMARCO is a lighthearted, frothy fable about romance and the way a patient's fantasies affect his doctor's reality. Despite several astute lines which give the film an intellectual appeal, this is not an exceptionally deep movie. The playful, often humorous tone, coupled with Don Juan's accent, suggests THE PRINCESS BRIDE. Writer/director Jeremy Leven takes pleasure in clouding the division between what's real and what isn't, but he never stretches matters to such an extreme that DON JUAN DEMARCO is reduced to a mindless farce.
Johnny Depp is appealing as the Latin lover, but the truly meaty role belongs to Brando. His Jack Mickler (aka Don Octavio) represents the audience's anchor as the film shifts between romantic illusion and clinical reality. There's nothing overtly original in the character, but Brando shows he can still give a strong performance. This is far from his best work, but he's more than a match for the part, and brings to Jack a human quality that encourages compassion and empathy.
DON JUAN DEMARCO has a seductively sensual veneer, but the full compliment of the title character's sexual conquests lacks the romance of the low-key relationship between Jack and his wife (Faye Dunaway). These two act like they've been married for thirty-two years, and her wonder at his sudden re-awakening is charmingly unaffected. There is proof here-- as if any is really needed--that couples don't have to be under thirty to capture an audience's heart.
With so much blurring between reality and fantasy, there are bound to be a few missteps, but Leven keeps these to a minimum, and the film is mostly a success in its approach to its themes. Don Juan asks the four essential questions about existence: "What is sacred?", "Of what is the spirit made?", "What is worth living for?", and "What is worth dying for?" The proposed answer to all is "love", that singular emotion which pervades this disarming motion picture.
- James Berardinelli (jberardinell@delphi.com)
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