Don Juan DeMarco (Jeremy Leven, 1994)

A fantastic little story, completely different to what I expected. I thought I was going to be watching a drama of some sort and then when the film opened with Depp putting on a Don Juan DeMarco outfit, I thought it was going to be set in a traditional village in Mexico. So turns out, this is a comedy set in modern-day New York. Johnny Depp plays a man who believes he is the famous lover Don Juan DeMarco and who undergoes psychiatric treatment with Dr Jack Mickler (played by the legend Marlon Brando who is almost unrecognisable), after attempting to commit suicide. The film is mostly made up of Don Juan telling the doctor about his life in the form of flashbacks.

Don Juan is an intensely romantic character who had spent his life seducing women but has been deeply troubled after being rejected by the girl he thought was “the one” (which happened, not surprisingly, after he admitted he slept with 1502 women!). But as Don Juan tells his story (in Depp’s flawless accent), which seems to get more believable as the film progresses, we see changes in the doctor. Don Juan’s idealistic notions of love and adoration for women inspires the doctor to try and spice up his own relationship with his wife Marilyn (played by Faye Dunaway). Though this plot is vulnerable to flaws, it didn’t seem to matter, as I was entertained and engrossed in the film for what it was − a delightful story.

I like the nice interweaving of Don Juan’s flashbacks, which added to the film and weren’t just boring attempts to fill the plot holes and provide background. Neither were the discussions between the doctor and Don Juan boring, as they moved from light conversation to deeper themes of love. While Don Juan has these romantic notions, his ideas of love seem to differ. In one scene, we see how after he leaves his first love in Mexico and ends up in a harem in the Middle East, he seems unable to overcome the feeling he had for the previous woman. Although, a few minutes later he is happily entertaining the sultaness. He also says to the doctor: “I am not limited by my eyesight”, which I think sums up his attitude to life. Brando also gave an enjoyable performance, which, honestly I don’t think would be too difficult for him in this role. Nevertheless, after telling Don Juan he is Don Octavio de Flores, a relative of someone he knows (in order to convince him to step off the ledge where he wanted to commit suicide), it was interesting to see how he almost began to feed off Don Juan’s stories and ideas and started applying them in his own life. Some entertaining moments include near the start of the film, when Don Juan is with a woman and when she is about to scream with pleasure, it cuts to a Mexican singer performing (a cameo by the famous Mexican singer Selena). I also found it amusing the way the nurses at the psychiatric hospital were so immersed in Don Juan − offering to walk him to the next room or look after him. And then, noticing this they put a tough-looking male nurse in charge of Don Juan (who we later see dancing with him outside). At one point, the doctor wants to have a deeper conversation with his wife and asks her about her hopes and dreams, to which she replies, “I thought you’d never ask!” − a charming yet poignant moment.

I admire the script, which manages to combine both a modern-day environment with the legend of Don Juan, written by Lord Byron. The ending is also really creative, as the retired doctor travels to the remote island, where Don Juan said his true love was, and we see her emerge and embrace him. So while this may suggest he was in fact telling the truth (though he is living in the wrong era to be the real Don Juan), the doctor, who is now narrating, says something like, “And was she waiting there for him?... Why not?” So immediately this turns the tables and the doctor is now in control. So rather than solving the question of whether the young man was indeed delusional, the ending actually focuses on the doctor’s life or perhaps what is his fantasy.
This film, which was actually produced by Francis Ford Coppola, is a great story to just relax and be entertained by. Now I really want to watch The Brave, which was released three years later and also stars Brando with Depp, who are a real mega-actor combination.

4.5/5