Being John Malkovich (1999)

This is one film that has me completely torn. On the one hand there is so much to admire about Being John Malkovich. The film is rich with great performances, it is directed very well by a new comer, it is a wonderfully original idea and seeing John Malcovich have the guts to portray himself, or to parody himself is quite amazing. But on the other hand there is much to critisize about this movie. It is slow, it doesn't really have a point and the only metaphors that I can get from the film are not clear or really that mind blowing, and the last half an hour of the film is plain and simply-----bad. I really think that this is the type of film that cannot fail critically, critics are too afraid to tell it like it is when it comes to an "arty" film like this one. It is safe and obvious to critisize a film like Armageddon or Bone Collector but admitting that you didn't really enjoy a film such as this is tricky as a critic because you may look foolish to your cronies so naturally all of them come out and tell you how wonderful and amazing and great and ya da ya da ya da this film is. But the one thing that I noticed when I read all of the reviews before I saw the film is that not one review really told me why this film is all that they say it is, and that is because it isn't. As I said, there is much to "admire" about Being John Malkovich, just not a lot to like. But I will tell you what is good before I tell you what isn't.

The performances are incredible. John Cusack, Cameron Diaz, Katherine Keener and John Malkovich turn in stellar portrayals of who they are. Cusack is the eccentric puppeteer that can't seem to get a break in life, Diaz is his repressed wife that perhaps only a few years ago would have been not just smart but down right gorgeous. Now she doesn't care about herself, only her animals that she cares for which includes a repressed monkey. She goes through one of the biggest awakenings. Keener plays Maxine, a sexy bitch that Cusack falls in lust for and then love. She is a bit of an enigma yet she is very self assured. And of course Malkovich plays a version of himself, perhaps a version that we, the public think he is. All four of these performances are rich and deeply layered. The story is also good in the sense that it is different than anything I have seen. It is fresh and nice at times to see a movie that is different than anything you have seen before. This is one of those movies, and I enjoyed it for that reason. But that is where my praise ends. That is all that I can really say is good about the film. While the film has it's moments of comedy and of interesting observations about life ( the big one being not to live vicariously through someone else or you may lose your identity ) it just didn't keep me interested or entertained for the majority of the film and especially for the last half hour. And for me to really enjoy a film and to think it is worth recommending to others, there has to be something to keep my interest. This film just moves along and seems to go nowhere. It doesn't have anything really great to say and it doesn't really take you anywhere. As I said, sure it is different, but that does not make it good. I do have a feeling that this film is going to get a rediculous amount of mention at Oscar time, but that is not fair. There are at least five films that I think are worthy of Oscar mention before this one, and other bound to be great films haven't even come out yet ( The Green Mile just to name one

Fmovies: The most original film to come out in ages! A film that has "one-joke premise" written all over it, but this film has about four dozen good jokes, each one brilliantly conceived and executed. Acted to perfection, beautifully written, directed by the insanely original and wild Spike Jonze, this is a great great film.

Originality is one thing that I very much admire in cinema, and it's also the reason I rate Being John Malkovich so highly. Charlie Kaufman has taken an amazingly weird premise and twisted round a suitably offbeat story to create a movie that is as bizarre as it is as it is compelling, and it's definitely a major highlight of American cinema in the 1990's. Charlie Kaufman may have scripted his most acclaimed film in 2004 with Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, but if you want to see his best work - you need look no further than his first feature. Quite how anyone could have thought of this premise remains a mystery, but I'm certainly glad that Kaufman did. The story revolves around a portal that leads directly into the head of the actor, John Malkovich. After discovering this portal, puppeteer Craig Schwartz shares it with his colleague and crush, the beautiful Maxine Lund. Things start to get complicated when Craig's wife, Lottie, becomes involved and it turns out that Craig's not the only one with a crush on Maxine.

The usually presentable John Cusack and Cameron Diaz are completely unrecognisable as this film's leading couple and both give career highlight performances. Catherine Keener fleshes out a threesome of leads. She is seductively sexy, and delivers a performance that reflects the quality of this film on the whole. And, of course, John Malkovich stars also. The fact that it's John Malkovich who is the title actor is what really makes this film. Had the film have been, say, 'Being Tom Cruise'; it wouldn't have had nearly the same impact. Malkovich is a big actor, but he's not THAT big and the fact that it's him takes the film away from the mainstream and allows it's offbeat indie roots to stay intact. Kaufman ensures that the story works by constantly adding new and weird events into the plot, and this in turn ensures that we never know what's coming next. Of course, this is exactly what you want from any film. The elements of the story aren't bound tightly enough to really make a lasting impression where substance is concerned; but it hardly matters, as there's enough offbeat invention in this film to more than adequately mask that fact It's easy to call this movie pretentious or silly; but it's also pointless. Being John Malkovich is a modern classic.

Being John Malkovich fmovies. Though I had liked the few Spike Jonze music videos I've seen(Weezer's "Buddy Holly" and the Beastie Boys one), I was hesitant about whether he could make the jump to movies, for, as we know, for every good MTV raised director(David Fincher), there are several bad ones(Michael Bay). And this is truly a concept which could have gone either way. But this is one of the most original, funny, and enjoyable movie experiences I've had this year. Every idea pays off in ways you don't expect, all four main actors do well cast against type, and it's awfully hard to pick who's the best(though I suspect John Malkovich will be remembered at Oscar time), the dialogue is great("Don't stand in the way of my actualization as a man!" may be the best line of the year), and I can't think of another way to describe this except go see it now.

What does it feel like to be inside someone else's skin? Some people find out in the highly imaginative `Being John Malkovich,' directed with style by Spike Jonze, and starring John Cusack, Cameron Diaz, Catherine Keener and John Malkovich. When out of work puppeteer Craig Schwartz (Cusack) gets a job as a file clerk on the `7 1/2' floor of an office building, it's the beginning of a bizarre interlude that will ultimately take him, and a few others as well, into a realm beyond the known. One day he discovers a small doorway hidden behind a filing cabinet; curious, he ventures into the dark beyond and is suddenly sucked into the mind of actor John Malkovich. After fifteen minutes of seeing through Malkovich's eyes, and experiencing what the actor is experiencing, Craig is just as suddenly and inexplicably dropped into a ditch beside the New Jersey Turnpike. Unable to contain himself, he confides what has happened to him to Maxine (Catherine Keener), a woman who also works on 7 1/2. Immediately, she sees money in the prospect of having a portal into the mind of John Malkovich, and she convinces Craig that they should start a business: `J.M. Inc.' For two hundred dollars a pop, people can have the experience of a lifetime.

Jonze has taken a unique screenplay that is clever, witty, humorous and totally engrossing, and turned it into one of the most ingenious films to come our way in a long, long time. In fact, there's never been anything quite like it. It is distinct and filled with nuance and subtle shades of humor, sometimes dark, sometimes hilarious, but riveting throughout. And the performances are absolutely first rate all around. Keener deservedly got the Oscar nod for Best Supporting Actress, but Cusack, Diaz and Bean are also exemplary here. Cusack comes through with one of the best characters he's ever done; there's an edgy, quiet intelligence to Craig, a Bohemian at heart, with a wife, Lotte (Diaz), and an apartment full of pets (snakes, birds and a chimp). He's reserved, generally takes things as they come, and exudes a certain boyish charm when he becomes smitten with Maxine. Diaz, taking on a decidedly unglamorous role, is terrific as Lotte, the somewhat unremarkable pet shop clerk who comes alive after experiencing the `portal.' It's a great character part, and Diaz plays it for all it's worth, connecting with the audience while ably conveying Lotte's sense of confusion and repressed yearnings. And Orson Bean nearly steals the show as Dr. Lester, Craig's boss, the hundred-and-five year old man with a secret that holds the key to the portal. It's a memorable performance filled with nuance and subtle humor; the scene in which he interviews job-applicant Craig is classic. Malkovich (as himself) is the icing on the cake; he plays it straight, with a finesse and distinction that makes the unbelievable somehow credible, while lending an easy, natural flow to the innate humor of the story. The `Malkovich, Malkovich,' sequence, and his rendition of the puppet's dance are unforgettable scenes.

The supporting cast includes Mary Kay Place (Floris), Charlie Sheen (Charlie), Carlos Jacott (Larry), Willie Garson (Guy in restaurant) and Byrne Piven (Captain Mertin). Written by Charlie kaufman, `Being John Malkovich' is a movie that is an experience in itself. And Jonze and his entire cast should be given a standing ovation for bringing this one to life, for making it breathe. It's the kind of film you wait for to come alo

All hail Spike Jonze for he is a genius. Not content with being the undisputed king of music videos, he's set his sights on full-length-feature-films. One might imagine that the often surreal, always innovative humour of his short music promos might not transfer across to a much longer production – like hell. ‘Being John Malkovich' is a fresh exciting stroke of genius.

John Cusack is Craig Schwartz, an unemployed puppeteer looser guy. In order to earn a living he is forced to find himself a regular job, only it soon becomes apparent that regular it is not. Working as a filing clerk on floor seven and a half, Craig stumbles across a portal into John Malkovich's head. No, really, that's what happens. Anyway, he turns this into a business venture with help from the beautiful Maxine (Catherine Keener), whom he lusts after. Maxine is more interested, however, in his wife, Lotte (Diaz, like you've never seen her before) but only when she's being John Malkovich.

Don't worry if this all sounds a little strange to you, it should do, it's probably the most surreal film ever made. I obviously can't give all the credit for this to director Spike Jonze; Charlie Kaufman is the genius that wrote this insanity. He's the most acutely imaginative and ingenious man of our time.

With such a fantastic cast the acting is of course superb; everyone's brilliant, especially Malkovich himself. Well obviously, you say, he's playing himself – yes, but he's also playing himself being played by an increasingly psychotic puppeteer.

Monkey flash backs and a restaurant full of Malkoviches are highlights of the insanely brilliant and brilliantly insane movie. If you thought that Spike Jonez could never top the Daft Punk talking dog video, you have never been so wrong in your life.

10/10