Being John Malkovich was one of 1999's most critically-acclaimed films; it earned a spot in a lot of critic's end-year lists of 1999. Unfortunately, the film only made $28 million, and only got nominated for three Academy Awards for Best Director (Spike Jonze), Best Supporting Actress (Catherine Keener), and Best Original Screenplay. And even more unfortunate, it didn't win any of them (it really got robbed for Best Original Screenplay). Anyways, this review must go on to tell you why this comedy is so special.
John Cusack plays a guy named Craig Schwartz, a failing puppeteer who finally decides to get a real job, after being pursuaded by his wife Lotte (Cameron Diaz). He finds an ad in the newspaper for Lestercorp looking for people with fast fingers to do mass filing. He gets to the 7 1/2 floor of the building, where the ceilings are very low. If that isn't strange enough, he finds a little door behind one of the cabinets. Craig crawls in and he gets sucked into the mind of actor John Malkovich (himself). After about 15 minutes inside the mind, he gets dropped at
a New Jersey turnpike.
He shares his secret with Maxine (Catherine Keener), an attractive girl that Craig has a huge crush on. They start a business together, which for $200, they allow anyone to go into the mind of John Malkovich. And a bunch of complications start happening after that. If I revealed them, it would ruin half-the-fun in watching
Being John Malkovich.
Thanks to Jonze's direction and Kaufman's screenplay, the movie is always laced with big laughs and a sense of brilliance. Another thing that I liked about
Being John Malkovich is that it's unpredictable. I thought I 100% knew what was going to happen next, and then ka-boom, something totally different happens.
Like I said, the movie is laced with big laughs. One scene that really stands out is when we're in a world where everyone looks like John Malkovich. And the language they spoke only had one word: Malkovich. Along with laughs, the movie brings up a lot of issues including sexual identities and even addiction. I also really liked this extra touch.
The performances are excellent to say the very least. John Cusack plays the role of Craig without flaw, Craig manages to be a likable guy at the beginning and we grow to hate him at the end. I didn't know Cameron Diaz played Lotte until I saw it on the credits, but Lotte was performed excellently; I really believed in her character. Catherine Keener was the weakest of the roles, but she still did a good job as Maxine. Now we go to John Malkovich. Now you may be thinking that might be easy, but that is definitely not the case. In addition to play as himself, he had to be the people that enter his mind. That, people, is not an easy task.
If you're looking for a comedy with depth, please rent Being John
Malkovich. It's guaranteed to make you laugh and think. Definitely
one of the best films of 1999.
