Drama

Jonathan (2018)

Published

4 years ago

December 19, 2018

Wow.
You’ve given each other the perfect male fantasy.
Sex without emotional attachment.

Fascinating. That’s the best description for this film. “Jonathan” is not an easy movie and it excels in monotony. But give this not so action-packed, one location situated film a chance and maybe you’ll discover how unparalleled and brilliant this film is. The starting point is actually dead simple. Those who already experienced the concept of living together, know that this only has a chance of success if appropriate agreements are made and complied with. This is to ensure that nobody makes the other’s life unnecessarily miserable. which could lead to a breakup. In the case of Jonathan (Ansel “Baby Driver” Elgort), it’s a bit more complicated. Because the person he lives with is his twin brother John who shares the same body. Aha, this is something like “Split“? No, not entirely. It’s less intense and it shows in a realistic way what a split personality is. So no frightening personality changes or “Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde ” behavior.

Excellent performance.

First of all, I would like to praise the excellent acting of Ansel Elgort. Even though I realize this isn’t so obvious, it seems to be a piece of cake for Elgort to play the two totally different personalities. Jonathan is the more disciplined twin brother. A perfect hairstyle and decent clothing show he’s the one who follows the rules. This means he manages his allocated time of the week optimally. He works at a distinguished architectural firm where he does his job perfectly. The cooking and household tasks are done neatly. And he reports conscientiously what he did all day with the aid of the camcorder before he crawls into his bed at an exact time to make room for the other twin brother John.

No girlfriends.

John is the indifferent one. A relaxed-looking pack rat who doesn’t want to live strictly according to the imposed rules. A night owl who enjoys the nightlife where he can meet other people and seduce feminine beauties. He’s someone whose video messages never sound too businesslike and who exudes an enormous “Je mon fou” mood. John is the rebellious personality who enjoys life. Until Jonathan gets suspicious (there’s this constant feeling of fatigue) and hires a private detective (a brief cameo by Matt “Walking out” Bomer), after which he finds out that John isn’t really keeping his end of the bargain. He conceals certain developments and breaks the main rule: no girlfriends. Having sex isn’t the problem, but having an emotional bond is out of the question.

It’s all about inner struggle.

“Jonathan” shows the interaction between two good friends. Jealousy and protecting his own territory causes complications and leads to a struggle between two people. In Jonathan’s case, it’s about an inner struggle. Something everyone has experienced once already. Only such a quarrel isn’t so obvious for Jonathan cause physical contact is impossible. What they get, is a war of words with the use of the camera. Or just simply, the absence of any sign of life, such that one of the personalities stays behind helplessly. The only moral support Jonathan has is Dr. Mina Nariman (Patricia “October Gale” Clarkson). She took Jonathan in when he was young and introduced structure in his life. She discovered what was wrong (Single body, multi-consciousness) and separated their lives with the help of a kind of timer.

Interesting, fascinating and captivating.

“Jonathan” is an interesting and fascinating indie-SF. Probably it’s a bit boring for some because it mostly takes place at one and the same location. And a large part of the film consists of video recordings of the two persons. But to be honest, it was captivating and I was curious how this unique conflict would end. There was, however, one particular thing I broke my head about. If the surgery which Dr. Nariman performed when Jonathan was 9 years old, went off seemingly hassle-free, why not apply this to all personalities? Wouldn’t this be the solution to avoid this unique and complicated situation? Or was Jonathan simply the umpteenth guinea pig? But besides this remark, I thought it was a top film. Definitely recommended for film lovers who love a clever psychological thriller with SF elements in it.

My rating 8/10
Links: IMDB

FILM RATING

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Drama

Jharrel Jerome and Jennifer Lopez to Headline ‘Unstoppable’ for Ben Affleck & Matt Damon’s Production Company

Published

23 hours ago

March 22, 2023

Darian Scalamoni

Hot off the great reviews for the upcoming Air Jordan flick, Air, it seems that Matt Damon and Ben Affleck are already set for their next project, one that will star someone near and dear to the heart of the latter. News comes in from Deadline, that Jennifer Lopez (Hustlers, Out of Sight) will star in the upcoming wrestling drama Unstoppable which comes from the new Artists Equity banner from Affleck and Damon, as well as Amazon. Additionally, in a separate report, we know that Emmy-winning actor Jharrel Jerome (When They See Us, Moonlight) will star as the lead of the film, playing the son of JLo’s character.

Unstoppable will star Jerome as three-time All-American wrestler Anthony Robles, an athlete born with one leg who persevered through his inspiring story to win a National Championship at Arizona State University. Lopez is set to play his supportive mother, Judy Robles. Robles, himself, is expected to be heavily involved in the production process of the film, which again, is set to stream on Amazon and produced by Amazon Studios. The latter news makes a lot of sense, following the early success of Air and the partnership forged between Amazon and Artists Equity on that particular project. Production on Unstoppable is expected to start sometime this Summer.

Lopez appeared on screen in two romance films last year with Amazon’s Shotgun Wedding and Marry Me which got a same day release in theaters and on Peacock. She’ll next appear in The Mother on Netflix which is directed by Mulan director Niki Caro.

Jerome is best known for his Emmy-winning role as Korey Wise in the limited Netflix series When They See Us based on the Central Park Five which was directed by Ava DuVernay. He’ll soon be seen in Steven Soderbergh’s HBO Max series Full Circle before leading Amazon’s I’m a Virgo from Sorry to Bother You filmmaker Boots Riley.

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Adventure

‘1883’ Spinoff Series ‘Bass Reeves’ Adds Dennis Quaid to Cast

Published

2 months ago

January 20, 2023

Darian Scalamoni

Dennis Quaid (Far from Heaven, The Day After Tomorrow) is the latest star to join the cast of Bass Reeves, a new drama series coming from Taylor Sheridan (Yellowstone, Tulsa King) and Paramount+, according to Deadline. Bass Reeves was announced as a spinoff to the Yellowstone prequel, 1883 back in May 2022 with David Oyelowo (Selma, A Wrinkle in Time) attached to star as the legendary lawman.

Bass Reeves will follow Oyelowo as someone who is known to many as “the greatest frontier hero” in American history in his own series on Paramount+. The streamer already houses so many Sheridan-fronted programs, most recently, Mayor of Kingstown starring Jeremy Renner returned for its second season while CIA drama, Lioness added to its cast with Nicole Kidman and Morgan Freeman. Some believe that Reeves served inspiration to “The Lone Ranger” having worked as a peace officer for Indian territory capturing over 3,000 criminals on that land. Quaid will play Sherrill Lynn, a Deputy U.S. Marshall within the show.

Quaid most recently voiced the character Jaeger Clade in Disney’s animated feature Strange World which is currently available to stream on Disney+. He’ll also star in Steven Soderbergh’s upcoming HBO Max series Full Circle alongside Zazie Beetz, Claire Danes and Emmy-winner Jharrel Jerome.

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Drama

Amy Winehouse Biopic ‘Back to Black’ Adds to Cast with Jack O’Connell, Eddie Marsan and Lesley Manville

Published

2 months ago

January 19, 2023

Darian Scalamoni

Let the casting of music biopics commence! As we’ve been hammered with news of superstar musician biopics each and every week, we have more news of one that is filming currently with Back to Black about the late, great Amy Winehouse. While it was reported back in January that Industry star, Marisa Abela will be leading as Winehouse, we now have details courtesy of Deadline on who will be joining the British pop star’s life story on screen.

The report indicates that Jack O’Connell (Unbroken, ’71), Lesley Manville (Phantom Thread, Another Year) and Eddie Marsan (Ray Donovan, The World’s End) will all appear alongside Abela in Back to Black. O’Connell is set to play Blake Fielder-Civil, the love of Winehouse’s life who she was married to from 2007 until 2009, just a few years prior to her death as their love was unfortunately addled by prescription drug abuse and alcohol as well as multiple stints in rehab for both of them. Marsan will play Winehouse’s father while Manville will play Winehouse’s maternal grandmother in the film.

Back to Black will follow the life of one of the greatest singer-songwriters of all-time in Amy Winehouse. Her sophomore album (which the film is named after) won her 5 Grammy Awards all at the young age of 25 just before her untimely death in 2011 at age 27. The film will focus on Amy’s creativity, genius and upbringing at Camden High School in the UK before she propelled into stardom.

The film will be written by Matt Greenhalgh and directed by Sam Taylor-Johnson reuniting the two of them after their 2009 film Nowhere Boy, which chronicled John Lennon’s formative years and adolescence. Taylor-Johnson is coming off directing episodes of Hunters and Solos for Amazon but is best known for helming Fifty Shades of Grey.

O’Connell had a big 2022 starring in Netflix’s Lady Chatterly’s Lover and MGM+’s new original series, SAS Rogue Heroes. He’ll next star as professional race car driver Peter Collins in Ferrari. Manville most recently starred as Princess Margaret in the recent season of The Crown for Netflix and in Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris for which she earned a Golden Globe nomination. Marsan is best known for playing Ray Donovan‘s brother, Terry in the hit Showtime series but will next appear in the film, Fair Play with Alden Ehrenreich and Phoebe Dynevor.

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