Don Juan DeMarco (1995) review

Self-described "world's greatest lover" Don Juan DeMarco (Johnny Depp) - who claims to have over "a thousand conquests" (rivaling Wilt's numbers!) - attempts suicide because he says he can't be with the only woman he's in love with, so psychiatrist Dr. Jack Mickler (Marlon Brando) intervenes and offers to treat the troubled young man, and Don Juan's tales of romance provide a spark for Dr. Jack's relationship with his own wife, Marilyn (Faye Dunaway).  The concept is very thin and the flashbacks to the main character's past are clearly delusional - growing up in Mexico, learning how to swordfight, defending his mother's honor, being sold into slavery, washing up on an island, etc. - but to its credit the cast plays along nicely, and the end result is quirky and non-cynical: why not believe everyone has "one true love" waiting for them somewhere in this chaotic world?  And yet the most interesting aspect to it is that it was written and directed by Leven, a Yale-trained neuropsychiatrist, and the movie sort of has an anti-psychiatric angle to it, with Mickler resisting putting Don Juan on medication to "restore his sanity" and indulging in his fantasy.  This might not be the healthiest move for a retiring clinician, but I hope it works out.