Don Juan Demarco

A slight but charming parable with metaphysical undertones, this 1995 romantic comedy stars Johnny Depp as a 21-year-old who believes himself to be the famous Don Juan. After threatening suicide, he’s arrested and turned over to a psychiatric clinic, where a doctor on the verge of retirement (Marlon Brando) takes over his case, falls under the spell of the youth’s imaginary past, and finds his own romantic feelings for his wife (Faye Dunaway) rejuvenated. This first feature by novelist and psychologist Jeremy Leven has a fairly rudimentary mise en scene, but the actors take over the proceedings with aplomb, and Brando and Dunaway have the grace to turn much of the show over to Depp, who carries the burden with ease. Coproduced by Francis Ford Coppola. With Rachel Ticotin, Bob Dishy, Talisa Soto, Marita Geraghty, and Richard Sarafian. PG-13, 97 min. (JR)

This entry was posted in Featured Texts. Bookmark the permalink.