182) Being John Malkovich
Director: Spike Jonze
Year: 2003
Plot Summary: An out of work puppeteer discovers a portal that literally leads him into the head of movie star John Malkovich.
Spike Jonze's debut in the world of feature films is one of the most imaginative movies that has ever been made. Written by Charlie Kaufman who, having later made Adaptation, Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind and Synecdoche New York, is among the most brilliant screenwriters in modern cinema, it tells the story of an out of work puppeteer who gets a real job as a file clerk. One day, he finds a portal behind a cabinet that takes him into the mind of actor John Malkovich for 15 minutes before spitting him out on the New Jersey Turnpike. He and his colleague decide to sell this experience for £200 a go.Though it never quite soars because of it's strange structure and storytelling, it remains ludicrously enjoyable from start to finish as you watch on wanting to know just where Charlie Kaufman will take this concept too next. He doesn't disappoint either as the narrative never wears thin, constantly throwing new, interesting and unexpected ideas into the mix.
However, the brilliance of Charlie Kaufman's writing doesn't just come from his ability to craft incredibly imaginative concepts, it also comes from the fact that he uses these ideas to explore tough, complex themes. Being John Malkovich is no different as, through the bizarre concept of finding a portal into John Malkovich's head, he tackles the ideas of gender roles, identity, sexual frustration, individualism, love and death.
Moreover, neither Spike Jonze or his writer lose sight of the characters at the centre of the movie. Craig Schwartz, John Cusack in one of the best roles of his career, becomes even more layered as the narrative twists and turns while his office crush and business partner, Maxine, is still as complex as it reaches its finale as she started out to be.
It has to be seen to be believed, Being John Malkovich rightly put Spike Jonze and Charlie Kaufman on the art house and American indie map for bringing imagination and creativity back to the cinema screen in such a well-executed, intellectually stimulating and, above anything else, riotously fun way.
5/5
Fantastic piece of dark mastery. It's pretty beyond words. I rewatched Cold Souls recently which is similar, you seen? I love it.
P.S. Sorry for not posting on your blog much lately. Watched One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest the other night. I usually forget it after each viewing, this was like my 5th or something. I think I'm finally embracing it for what it is with the documentary feel and the use of reaction shots. Dog Day Afternoon is still better than it in every way of course. ;)
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