They
are like the Corsican Brothers, but more symbiotic—and weirdly codependent.
They do just share a flat and some DNA, they cohabitate in the same body. Each
gets his own shift from 7:00 to 3:00. If you question the sustainability of
this arrangement, your skepticism will be validated in Bill Oliver’s Jonathan, which screens during the 2018 Tribeca Film Festival.
Jonathan
is the tidy and responsible one, who gets the day shift. John is the sloppy but
social one, who lives by night. Obviously, they can never be present together,
but at the end of each shift they leave each other video messages, recapping
their interactions with people, so they will not be caught flatfooted during
their shifts. However, John has been out of sorts ever since Jonathan read him
the riot act about pursuing a long-term relationship with Elena, a pretty young
waitress completely unaware of their condition.
Much
to Jonathan’s alarm, John stops leaving messages. He is even more concerned when
he discovers their doctor and surrogate mother, Dr. Mina Nariman has been
treating John for depression. However, he really starts feeling guilty when he
pursues his own relationship with Elena.
Jonathan is billed as
science fiction, but the radical treatment the J-men have undergone does not feel
very speculative at all. To an extent, the film plays like a more innocent
cousin of Philip K. Dick’s A Scanner
Darkly. Nevertheless, the fraternal relationship and the rules they embrace
or chafe under to make their co-existence possible are intriguing and
inherently dramatic. Yet, the film is never mind-blowing in the way it clearly
hopes to be. Despite a few fresh wrinkles, the multiple personality subject
matter is largely confined to familiar territory.
Still,
Oliver’s execution is tight and stylish. He is particularly adept at conveying
Jonathan’s closely guarded emotional state. Ansel Elgort and Suki Waterhouse
also give career-best performances (thus far), which might sound like a bold
declarative statement, but it based on an underwhelming field of films,
including November Criminals, The Bad Batch,
and the “Ent” franchise.
Credit
is still due, especially for Elgort, who clearly delineates Jonathan, who
provides our sole POV and John, seen only in video messages, without ever resorting
to cheap tics or tricks. Of course, Patricia Clarkson is always reliable, but
she really deepens the film with her subtle but forceful portrayal of Dr.
Nariman. If anyone earns award consideration for Jonathan, it will be Clarkson, but Shunori Ramanathan should earn
consideration for bigger roles for her sensitive turn as Jonathan’s concerned
co-worker, Allison.
There
are some obvious logical questions Oliver co-screenwriters Peter Nickowitz and
Gregory Davis just hope viewers do not think to ask. Yet, there is something
about the synaptic Cain and Abel relationship that resonates on a gut level. It
will not stretch your mind or your consciousness, but it will get under your
skin. Recommended on balance for the ensemble work, Jonathan screens this afternoon (4/24) and Saturday (4/28), as part
of this year’s Tribeca Film Festival.
