User reviews

It's not that often that I don't really know what to think about a movie. The technical part is really enjoyable. The synopsis strange and mysterious. We enter little by little, day to day, in the reality of Jonathan and we understand very slowly what this reality means. It's dark. But not really sad. It's complex. The movie doesn't try to simplify or over explain it, which is great. But also left me with too much questioning to be at ease. I don't know if the ending is great and really smart, or a bit dull. I don't know. And it's fine.

And perhaps this movie is great because of this: it leaves you with more questions than answers.

This beautiful little film might best be described as an interesting new take on the Narcissus myth, with an impressive central performance by Ansel Elgort. Both stylish and moving, this small scale story raises questions about the nature of desire, compassion, self-reflexivity and unconventional love.

One of films who I love . Maybe, because, as schizoid person, I am not real far by the world of Jonathan. Or maybe because it is fascinating the manner to use the basic idea. A profound delicate subject and a seductive exploration of a dark and not comfortable universe. A film proposing only questions and no answers. Impecable acting and great story. A film about loneliness , with a precise target, in clothes of Sci . F., trip across a life who is not so different and who, in fact, represents, with the few nuances, the rule more than the exception. "Jonathan" is a great film not for the artistic and technical aspects but for the state after its end.

I like bold stories. Every day I learn to watch movies and have fun with them without wanting to be so demanding and precise in details. Great performances and a different and engaging story.

I expected just a little more. Be it character development or just a more to the ending...... i just feel like it was missing something.

4.6

Jonathan (Ansel Elgort) is a buttoned up reserved guy. He wakes up at 7am everyday and watches a video of a doppelganger who seems to be a much more relaxed version of himself. He goes to work at an architecture firm and visits Dr. Mina Nariman (Patricia Clarkson) who is treating him for an unknown condition. He always goes to sleep early in the afternoon. One day, he runs into Elena (Suki Waterhouse) on the streets. She claims to know him at night which reveals the shocking truth.

The premise is intriguing and it holds its mystery well for the first act. I was thinking clones or twins. Spoilers, it's not. I actually like the reveal. It's setup for something tense. I want the paranoia. I want the distrust. It gets delivered but not in a satisfying way. So much of this movie is one guy watching the other on video that it drains the intensity out of the flow. I also want real action and tension in the plot. Once the reveal happens, the movie's intensity slowly slides down. I like some of the ideas but this needs more to appeal to a bigger audience.

Different, creative storytelling. A bit of sci-fi, a bit of neuropsychological make believe. A different take on multiple personalities. Could have used some science based explanations to fill some plot holes in this illness. A bit too much jumping about w/not a lot of time spent exploring/explaining events.

There is no doubt that the idea behind "Jonathan" is an intriguing one: one body, two personalities, each operating for half of the 24 hour cycle. There are many interesting directions a story like that could take. Unfortunately, this film hardly touches on any of them, instead setting up a pretty standard, run-of-the-mill love triangle formula, eschewing all the potential "good stuff".

For a basic plot summary, "Jonathan" tells the story of, well, Jonathan (Ansel Elgort) and John (also Elgort), a multiple-personality disorder situation. Jonathan's personality operates their body from 7 AM to 7PM, after which John takes over for the "night shift". When we are introduced to the duality, they seem to be coexisting nicely, leaving messages for each other as if they are friends or brothers. When John's new girlfriend (breaking the "rules of engagement" for their situation) Elena (Suki Waterhouse) complicates the strict scheduling, however, a rift emerges between the Johns that send them spiraling into conflict and potentially extinction.

I can give this film four stars because the basic idea is indeed interesting. Director Bill Oliver also gives the very basics (though no more) of character development and trying to probe the more interesting issues. The problem (and why I can't go any higher), though, is that by the end of the film it is nothing more than a simple love-triangle drama.

There were so many missteps or more interesting ways for the story to go:

-Jonathan/Jon view each other as brothers, yet only a brief scene two-thirds of the way through the film touches on that relationship angle. This needed to be done right up front to add character depth. As it is, it's tough to really feel for the dual personalities when for most of the film, they are portrayed as much as business partners as close relations.

-Viewers needed more of the "night Jon" perspective, as the entire film is told through the eyes of "morning Jonathan". I wanted to see more of Elgort's second performance, and not just on the recorded messages. Again, it's tough to feel for both parties when 98% of the time we are only truly shown one side of the story.

-The whole piece needed more conflict/action. Maybe one of the personalities could have pulled a bold move, or even some Parent Trap-esque swap shenanigans ensued. Alas, "Jonathan" plays everything pretty much right down the middle, never taking any risks or, in all honesty, creating dramatic moments whatsoever.

Overall, then, I consider "Jonathan" to be one of those great "idea films" that is mostly wasted in the execution. There are times when it failed to hold my full attention, not because the basic concept was bereft of substance but because the execution of it indeed was.

I don't know why this movie is categorized as a sci-fi as there are no elements of science fiction present, or they must refer to his condition of two people living in one body. To me that's more a split personality and has not much to do with sci-fi. But it doesn't really matter, the movie started with a mysterious feeling but the more the movie advances the lesser it gets interesting. There are just too much stupid decisions that just make no sense at all in this movie and so I just lost interest and got bored. The acting of Ansel Elgort is okay, but a bit monotone. Another reviewer will remember this movie for a long time. Well to me it's just the opposite, I will forget everything about it tomorrow.

A fascinating yet troubling concept. Many questions are left open in the end so a lot of conclusions are what the viewer decides. Is this factual or is the young man suffering from Dissociative Personality Disorder? Is the doctor being completely honest? Really well done, thoughtful & at times frustrating.

Well, the movie have one of the bestest idea in 2018 but Their application was bad, In many periods I was bored I think the reason was the poor management of the scenes also some characters are just without value for the story P.s: ansel was good but i think he can give more..

Great movie and ok idea but something missing at the end....

This is a "thinking-man's sci-fi movie." If you appreciate such things, you will definitely not be disappointed.

If you are in the mood for drama, with a little bit of sci-fi, this is for you. Or, you are a deep thinker - because this movie really made me stop and think - about many important questions regarding life, relationships, lies, trust, loss...

I rated this movie so highly because, as far as I know, it's really something original, something different, for a change. I'm sure there's other movies and stories out there which are similar, but I consume a lot of media and can't really think of anything like this.

I highly recommend watching this movie - and, no, I was not a part of the cast or production team. :)

Trying to figure out if this is a good movie or not. It's not one of those movies that you can put in the background and watch. Concept of being able to communicate with your brother in your own body is fascinating but makes the first half of the movie feel pretty long. It is pretty different that you wouldn't be able to remember anything of your other subconscious. I wasn't disappointed with this, just not sure how to process this. Didn't captivate me the way I was hoping and I'll probably be able to forget it in about a week. Won't need to rewatch this but it's still worth a watch.