Jovan Presents: Joseph Gordon-Levitt

In the past two months, Joseph Gordon-Levitt has become one of my favorite actors. As of right now, there isn't anything I wouldn't watch him do.

For the longest time, people mostly knew of him from the t.v. show 3rd Rock from the Sun, if they knew of him at all. Since the end of that show to now, Joseph Gordon-Levitt has been steadily building his name to become synonymous with talent and was for a while something of an indie-darling. After his time on 3rd Rock from the Sun, JGL made bold decisions with his roles in small but impressive and great films.

The first one was his work in Mysterious Skin. In that film JGL played a gay teenager in a small middle-of-nowhere town and as a child had a sexual relationship with a pederast and, now a teenager, sells his body to closeted men in the community. Now, just reading that last sentence seems like the description for a role of an accomplished Academy-Award winning actor, but this was JGL's FIRST job after 3rd Rock from the Sun, where he played an infinitely less complex role. And, even more impressive, JGL pulls of the role magnificently. It really is mesmerizing. A note of caution, though. If you plan to watch it, know that it is a really hard film to watch. A great film, but really hard to watch nonetheless. The film deals with pedophilia and child sexual abuse and its long-term effects on boys, and in ways I've never seen done in any way previously, ways that can be extremely uncomfortable for many. But, echoing a sentiment made by a reviewer of the book on Amazon.com, the movie takes you places you may not want to go, but ought to.

The second movie that brought JGL much praise was for his work in Brick. Brick is an exciting and enthralling modernization of the film noir genre, taking many of its tropes and archetypes and placing them in a modern-day high school setting. "Huh?" Yeah, but it totally works in many smart and funny ways. JGL plays a hard-boiled-detective-type student that attempts to unravel the mystery surrounding his ex-girlfriend's death. JGL may seem unlikely as a bad-ass but, again, he pulls it off flawlessly. There is a scene in the beginnings of the movie that cements his character as a bad-ass in your head: you'll recognize it when you see it.

Last in his strong indie run that I'll mention is The Lookout. It's a heist film more akin to heist films of the 70s than of the Ocean's Eleven, cool, type of films nowadays. JGL plays a young man with brain damage that's caused short-term memory, and although he can for the most part do everything normally, his mental shortcomings prevent him from getting a good job or money. This sets up the rest of the heist plot. While the role might seem a bit less complex than the other two, through his performance you can feel the frustration of a man that, despite being able to do things in life just as well any other normal person, is continuously held back by forces out of his control. That's what makes the character so great. It's very easy to become sympathetic to the character JGL brings out to the audience. The film is very involving and tense, and you're never really sure of what might happen next.

Since these three movies JGL's been more in the Hollywood spotlight, appearing in big films like G.I. Joe and the critically acclaimed (500) Days of Summer. JGL really is one of the most talented of not only his generation but of the young Hollywood scene in general. Similar to Leonardo DiCaprio, he's gone through a kind of cinematic rebirth into a great actor. I'm such a big fan of his that he's my only choice to follow up on Heath Ledger and portray the Joker in future Batman movies (but, more on that later). Coincidentally, JGL will be appearing on-screen with Leo in Christopher Nolan's upcoming Inception. Also on JGL's slate Hesher, another indie film where he'll be acting alongside Natalie Portman. I'm not sure how well the movie is being received, but I know for sure that JGL's acting is being praised once again.

So yeah, watch his stuff, enjoy his performances, and be on the look out for big things from him in the future.

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