Being John Malkovich (1999)

Where to start? The coolest conceptual story to come around in decades. Kaufman is a sheer genius, tying in philosophical quandaries with dark caustic humor and fanatical elements like no other. Spike Jonze brings this script to life, formulating a perfect storm of imagery and powerful performances. It speaks to everyone, as you will identify with at least one of these tortured characters. Casting Cameron and Cusack as these frumpy fops is brilliant as well, and they both give the best performances of their careers, playing against type in a magnificent display of grotesque beauty. And who would have thought the ending could be so poignant, tragic, and satisfying at the same time. What a damn roller coaster ride of imagination. Also, nice nod to surrealist Alfred Jarry, with the "half a floor" joke (he famously made his apartment like this for some baffling reason. LOVE THIS FILM.

This movie is magnificent. It's tough to describe because it's one of the most off the wall bat-s!@t crazy plots ever conceived. Imaginative and inventive film making at it's best. A must see to believe that it was actually made. You never know where this movie is headed which makes it super enjoyable.

This film has a densely layered plot with plenty of insight into the human mind. John Malkovich is a vessel literally and metaphorically. The discovery of the portal amplifies the true nature of each character. Craig, the puppeteer, craves the acceptance of the public for his talent. Lotte, his wife, lives to care for her animals but ultimately wants a child. Maxine, the woman both Lotte and Craig claim to love, believes her beauty is worth the status she lacks. Malkovich is the means by which they believe happiness is possible.Being John Malkovich is very applicable to this digital age of live celebrity updates and involvement with the public. Many wish they were someone who had more freedom to do whatever they wanted in their relationships, profession, and overall life. Craig, Lotte, and Maxine are all out for themselves: seeing Malkovich as an opportunity and not a human being. Walking in someone else's shoes is traditionally viewed as a chance to understand another person, but in this case it is exploited for narcissistic agendas. Only one character in the movie has true compassion for other human beings, and it is Elijah, their pet monkey.

A film like this has some great ideas in its head. What if you could go inside the head of one of the most underrated actors of all time, John Malkovich? That's a question that you've probably never thought of but wish you did after seeing one of the best films of the 20th century, Being John Malkovich. Easily a movie that could only be written by the one and only genius madman himself Charlie Kaufman and directed by the other genius madman Spike Jonze. The genius of this film is the subtext surrounding itself. Being John Malkovich is a film about identity, longing, the complexities of the mind and what we really want out of life.The film starts with Craig Schwartz, played by John Cusack, using a marionette puppet destroying his property around him. The puppet looks strikingly like Schwartz and in that one scene we see the complexities and possessiveness of Cusack's character in just one scene. Being John Malkovich is about said puppeteer, Craig Schwartz, who gets work at office 7 ½ discovers a doorway in his office that when entering inside of it allows you to be in the mind of John Malkovich. But as the film progresses Schwartz is finding out more and more about the people he loves as he delves in more into the psyche of Malkovich. The wonderfully original script by Charlie Kaufman who has written some of my favorite movies, Adaptation, Anomalisa, and my personal favorite of his Synecdoche, New York. It's funny how I have just found the time to watch what has now just become, in the matter of a few hours, one of my favorite films of all time. It's mix of drama and comedy makes this a standout of any film that will ever exist. Being John Malkovich is a triumph to the world in saying that crazy can make the world a better more brighter place for film.Spike Jonze has impressed me ever since I saw his marvelous romance film, Her, and by seeing his directorial debut it shows me that Jonze has never lost that spark of creativity or brilliance that was shown to the world in 1999. It's shocking to realize that this was his first feature film and has topped many people's favorite films of all time. I can see a bit of what Kaufman and Jonze would bring to the world in the next decade. In a way Jonze and Kaufman is making us the audience Craig Schwartz. By letting us infer on what they want to show us and what the characters in their movie are trying to express but can't with the possessiveness of Schwartz. It's truly fantastic that a movie can let us feel what we want to feel rather than how we feel. I haven't gotten into this as much but Being John Malkovich is one of the funniest dark comedies I have ever seen in my life. It has a great mesh of it and isn't always hilariously goofy or always grimly dark but a good mixture of the two that will never be replicated. Much like the performances in this that will never be replicated.This movie is filled with career bests for everyone in the cast. John Cusack, Catherine Keener, Cameron Diaz, and the one and only John Malkovich give mind boggling prowess to their roles. As mentioned previously Cusack can easily bring a complexity to a character that you should hate but you don't because of his empatheticness and possessiveness. He bends the ways of how the audience sees him to try to paint a false idol of what he wants to be but isn't. Sadly he explores the part in us humans that we can never escape from, not getting what we think we deserve. Schwartz goes crazy mad when he spills his heart and guts for a woman that couldn't care less about him. Diaz has the best performance of her career in this film. She brings the side of humanity of trying to find out who we are and are we actually being honest to ourselves or are we just trying to change ourselves so that we can be the best for other and not what's best for us. But the standout of this is the titular actor/character himself, John Malkovich. Malkovich brings the side of humanity that is quite fascinating to me. Are our thoughts actually our thought? Are we thinking what we want to think or is an outside source just making us think the things they want us to think. I'm honestly surprised that I have written this much about only 3 characters in this film. But isn't that what shows the beauty of this film? That I can dissect it and think about it at this level of depth and still be mesmerized by it and want to go back and rewatch it as soon as possible! I think so.Being John Malkovich is the greatest gift the 1990s ever left on us and shows that we don't need to follow the same norms that the Hollywood industry has put on us as audience members and we can see actual bright ideas that don't follow the normalcy of what we put up with throughout the year. A grandeur of the surreal and a favorite of mine that I want to rewatch over and over and over. Being John Malkovich is that times a thousand.