Being John Malkovich (1999)

Masterfully ingenuous and utterly incomparable...

Charlie Kaufman may be the greatest screenwriter of our generation. He's written three of the greatest screenplays in recent memory (`Being John Malkovich', `Adaptation' and `Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind') and those are just the three I've seen (to be honest, I was not entirely impressed with `Confessions of a Dangerous Mind' and I never saw `Human Nature'). He has a knack for creating scenarios that are entirely improbable yet tap into the very soul of a human. His films are not merely comedic entertainment but are important and philosophical in their relation to human nature and innate desire.

`Being John Malkovich' is not your typical comedy.

The film tells the story of puppeteer Craig Schwartz who is growing tired of not having an audience for his work. After he is persuaded by his wife to get a job he finds that his new working environment is opening portals (quite literally) to an entirely new existence. Hidden away in his very workroom is a portal into the mind of John Malkovich, the actor. Yes, by crawling through a long cramped tunnel one can be John Malkovich for fifteen minutes before being spit out over the Jersey turnpike. Craig, having fallen for his intriguing coworker Maxine, devises a plan with her to charge admission into the mind of Malkovich, but entering that portal changes their lives in many other ways.

There are so many ways to interpret this movie that I feel as if touching upon them all would be too difficult a task at this point. I will admit that watching this film, and even more so just contemplating its meanings afterward, changed me in a way.

To be completely honest, I woke up wanting to be John Malkovich.

The film exposes some very human truths, in regards to the desire to be someone we're not and the desire to see ourselves through someone else's eyes. It also, in a somewhat humorous way, exposes the worthlessness of celebrity in itself, the almost faux notion that making a name for ones self really makes a difference. First we have Craig who just wants to practice his work, but he hasn't the name to do so. In Malkovich he finds a way to expound upon his love of puppeteering. Then you have his wife Lotte who is unsatisfied with her existence in finds in Malkovich something that feels right. Then you have Maxine who desires to be desired, and while she is desired by many she is not desired for the right reasons, until she stares into Malkovich's eyes and sees Lotte starring back at her.

And then we have Malkovich. What I thought was so great about the script was that it in a humorous and sub-plotted kind of way approached that fact that celebrity is not as glamorous as one expects. Malkovich is regarded as a respected and loved actor yet no one that talks to him really knows what movies he has made or what roles have made him so `respected'.

"Who's John Malkovich?"

The films brilliant prose is bolstered by the fantastic, and I mean FANTASTIC, performances by the entire cast. John Cusack is awkward, goofy and tired, which masterfully captures his characters unhappiness with his lot in life. Cameron Diaz is brilliantly sporadic with her actions and feelings, adding layers to her characters inborn struggle to be herself. Catherine Keener is flawless as Maxine. She demands our attention with her marvelous manipulation of our emotions. We want her to get what she wants even if it destroys us. This movie though, is called `Being John Malkovich', and honestly, it is John Malkovich himself that drives it all home. His brilliant portrayal of himself is utterly flawless. I have liked him in the past and found him stale in the past, but this performance is astonishing in every sense of the word; especially as it draws to a climax and he starts to unravel.

`Being John Malkovich' is funny, sure, but like Kaufman's other work, `Being John Malkovich' is so much more than a typical comedy. It answers questions (or at least asks very many) about life, human interaction and the very root of who we are and who we want to be.

Have you ever wanted to be someone else? Of course you have. September 10, 2008

Huh? Was that necessary. . .?

I enjoy "deep" movies, but sometimes "deep" movies appear deep without truly being deep. This is one of those movies. It was at times thought provoking, but the so called twists and paradoxes, to me, had no deeper meaning other that to have them so people who professed to understand them could feel more intelligent than the rest of the population who did not. Maybe it is sour grapes, but to me if they had cut out some of the "deeper" idioms the movie would have sustained the true depth and thought provoking ideals it was looking for. August 13, 2008

My favorite movie for some time now.

I love the combination of scifi existentialism, reality in the fact that John Malkovich plays himself, and subtle comedy.

There are scenes in this movie that stick in my head and make me chuckle when I think of them long after seeing it.

I would recommend it to anyone who enjoys a lot of quirkiness in their movies. July 17, 2008

Malkoviching Malkovich Malkovich

[first lines]
Lotte Schwartz: Craig, honey, it's time for bed.
[fade out and in]
Orrin Hatch the bird: Craig, honey, time to get up, Craig, honey, time to get up, Craig, honey, time to get up, Craig, honey, time to get up,
Craig Schwartz: Lotte...
Lotte Schwartz: I'm sorry. I didn't know Orrin Hatch was out of his cage.

A puppeteer discovers a portal that leads literally into the head of the movie star, John Malkovich.

Craig Schwartz: Nobody's looking for a puppeteer in today's wintry economic climate.

Craig discovers that LesterCorp is on the 7 1/2 floor of the Mertin Flemmer building by seeing a "7 1/2" on a building directory in the lobby - at the 7 1/2-minute point of the film.

Dr. Lester: Any questions?
Craig Schwartz: Just one. Why are these ceilings so low?
Dr. Lester: Low overhead, my boy - we pass the savings on to you! But seriously, that'll all be covered in the orientation.

The play that Craig was performing with his puppets (when he gets smacked by an angry parent) is based on the letters of Abelard and Heloise, written between 1115 and 1117 AD, which were found, copied and abridged by Johannes de Vepria, a 15th century Cistercian monk, into "Ex Epistolis duorum amantium" ("From the Letters of Two Lovers"). This became a classic document of early romantic (tragic) love used by many artists in their work including William Shakespeare in Romeo and Juliet. In addition, screenwriter Charlie Kaufman's later project Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004) took its title, and no small amount of inspiration, from Alexander Pope's "Eloisa to Abelard."

Dr. Lester: I've been very lonely in my isolated tower of indecipherable speech.

The 1990 Steppenwolf Theatre building in Chicago (Malkovich was one of the first members of Steppenwolf, and remains one today) includes a half-floor used for storage.

The original script has Kevin Bacon in place of 'Charlie Sheen' , as Malkovich's actor friend.

John Malkovich: Ma-Sheen!
Charlie Sheen: Malcatraz!

The play that John Malkovich is rehearsing on stage is Shakespeare's "Richard III." The lines "Was ever a woman in this humour woo'd? / Was ever a woman in this humour won?" are I.ii.239-240, where Richard is gloating over his use of power, lies and crime to obtain the woman he desires, Lady Anne. This rehearsal scene is immediately followed by the first time that Craig makes love with Maxine via Malkovich.

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Maxine: Tell me a little about yourself.
Craig Schwartz: Well, I'm a puppeteer...
Maxine: [turns to bartender] Check!

Several characters in the movie remember Malkovich as having played a jewel thief, even though, as he correctly points out, he never did. However, Malkovich did eventually play a jewel thief in Johnny English (2003).

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Craig Schwartz: You don't know how lucky you are being a monkey. Because consciousness is a terrible curse. I think. I feel. I suffer. And all I ask in return is the opportunity to do my work. And they won't allow it... because I raise issues.

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[last lines]
Craig Schwartz: [voiceover] Maxine. Maxine, I love you, Maxine. Oh, look away. Look away. Look away. Look away. Look away. Look away. Look away. Look away.

"Allegro, from Music for Strings"
Written by Béla Bartók
Performed by The Cleveland Orchestra
Conducted by Christoph von Dohnányi
Courtesy of The Decca Record Company Ltd.
Under license from Universal Music Special Markets

"Song of the Soul"
Composed by Patrick Hawes
Courtesy of Promusic, Inc.

"Minuetto"
(from Concerto in C major for Oboe, String Orchestra and Basso Continuo)
Music by Antonio Vivaldi
Courtesy of Promusic, Inc.
"Amphibian"
Written by Björk
Performed by Björk
Produced by Björk, Valgeir Sigurðsson & Mark Bell

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Maxine: You're not someone I could get interested in, Craig, you play with dolls.

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TEN FILMS THAT PERTAIN TO BEING JOHN MALKOVICH IN SOME OBSCURE OR DIRECT WAY

Adaptation (Superbit Collection) (2002) Charlie Kaufman wrote this script besides Being John Malkovich. Meryl Streep? Not too shabby. Contains a fictional account of the making of Being John Malkovich as part of a movie within the movie.

Bound (1996) Jennifer Tilly is Violet and Gina Gershon is Corky. Schwing!!!

Steppenwolf (1974) Max von Sydow is Harry Haller, the Steppenwolf, Pierre Clémenti is the enigmatic Pablo, and Dominique Sanda is Hermine. Based on the book by Herman Hesse, it was also the name of the theater company joined by John Malkovich, as well as the band who gave us Born to Be Wild.

Boys on the Side (1995) Whoopi Goldberg, Drew Barrymore, and Mary-Louise Parker order a grilled cheese sandwich with a pickle on the side.

Grosse Pointe Blank (1997) Cusack is Martin Q. Blank, an everyman, a warped John Q. Public.

Roberto Benigni's Pinocchio (2002) Roberto Benigni followed up his Oscar win with Pinocchio, the worst received puppet show since Craig Schwartz performed The Letters of Abelard and Heloise.

The Grifters (1990) Cusack is Roy Dillon, a grifter, son of Angelica Houston, another grifter, and Annette Benning? Grifter.

There's Something About Mary (Widescreen Edition) (1998) Cameron Diaz plays Mary Jensen, right down to her hair gel.

Johnny English (Widescreen Edition) (2003) Pascal Sauvage, the Greedy Frenchman, and Malkovich finally does play a jewell theif after all.

$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

Charlie Sheen: Truth is for suckers, Johnny Boy.
July 10, 2008

Humorous Twist On Mind and Body

Craig starts as a nobody Puppeteer until one day he finds himself as a well-mannered actor after discovering a miniature doorway where he works. It is a portal that leads to the mind and body of John Malkovich. For 200.00 Craig and his hard-to-get co-worker lets anyone access the portal; where love making with wild women and his daily habits can be experienced. Unfortunately for most it only last 15 minutes. This movie plays on many philosophical and psychological abstracts such as mind, consciousness, sub consciousness and private thought and diffuses them out with humor and sexual wits. July 9, 2008

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