Watching "Jonathan" was almost like the experience of two films in one. First, there is the story of Jonathan by day. Then, there is John by night. Two human creatures trapped in the same body. And that complex situation is left to be worked out by a psychiatrist, who is in dire need of help herself!
The film's premise was intriguing as modern science has found a solution for schizophrenia. Dr. Mina Nariman has the perfect solution by implanting a device to regulate the timetables of the two men trapped inside one body. Johnathan is the straight-laced Puritan who prefers order in his life; John is the libertine who prefer chaos. This yin-and-yang combo operates through a magic alarm clock that switches off Jonathan/John for a twelve-hour period, freeing each of them to live separate lives. They communicate through a magic video hook-up.
The only problem is that the two men must play by the rules, one of which is to strictly avoid having a girlfriend. When both Jonathan and John fall in love with a young bartender named Elena, they enter into the Twilight Zone. It is then up to Dr. Nairman to set things right.
But is the doctor capable of objectively assessing the situation and not playing favorites? When it comes to "single-body multi-consciousness," she clearly seems to have a favorite. One disturbing detail in the film is that in the past, there was apparently a third young man trapped inside the body of Jonathan/John, and the doctor decided to kill him off!
The film had excellent potential as a psychological thriller. But in the homestretch of the final thirty minutes, it began to take itself too seriously as an art film. It is difficult to imagine that many viewers find the film's ending satisfactory. In fact, most viewers could probably conceive a less pretentious ending that would have been more engaging for a film that is essentially a thriller.
The film's premise was intriguing as modern science has found a solution for schizophrenia. Dr. Mina Nariman has the perfect solution by implanting a device to regulate the timetables of the two men trapped inside one body. Johnathan is the straight-laced Puritan who prefers order in his life; John is the libertine who prefer chaos. This yin-and-yang combo operates through a magic alarm clock that switches off Jonathan/John for a twelve-hour period, freeing each of them to live separate lives. They communicate through a magic video hook-up.
The only problem is that the two men must play by the rules, one of which is to strictly avoid having a girlfriend. When both Jonathan and John fall in love with a young bartender named Elena, they enter into the Twilight Zone. It is then up to Dr. Nairman to set things right.
But is the doctor capable of objectively assessing the situation and not playing favorites? When it comes to "single-body multi-consciousness," she clearly seems to have a favorite. One disturbing detail in the film is that in the past, there was apparently a third young man trapped inside the body of Jonathan/John, and the doctor decided to kill him off!
The film had excellent potential as a psychological thriller. But in the homestretch of the final thirty minutes, it began to take itself too seriously as an art film. It is difficult to imagine that many viewers find the film's ending satisfactory. In fact, most viewers could probably conceive a less pretentious ending that would have been more engaging for a film that is essentially a thriller.