Being John Malkovich Review- By Michael Carlisle

Title: Being John Malkovich  
Year: 1999

Director: Spike Jonze 

Country: U.S
Language: English

 

Incredibly strange, odd and quirky. Being John Malkovich is one of the most unique and inventive films I’ve seen in a while. Even the basic plot is intriguing enough to fill a collection of films and still have enough ideas and audience interest to make a television series or two. Rare is the film where the writer, Charlie Kaufman, deserves more acclaim that the director, Spike Jonze. Rare is the film that surprises you over and over again, continuing up a staircase of oddity without losing its intelligence or surprising humour. The plot unfolds in a rather relaxed way, while the film itself is a strange ride we never feel the urge to jump out of the car.

John Cusack stars as Craig, the power hungry puppeteer who’s puppets themselves are pessimistic and dark, much like Craig’s attitude towards life. His animal obsessed wife Lotte is played by the usually gorgeous Cameron Diaz,  however in this film she looks and acts equally as strange as John Cusack’s character. This film has given me a fond respect for Diaz as this role seems far from the characters she usually plays. Craig’s co-worker Maxine, played by Catherine Keener, who is slightly self obsessed. She’s the lusty girl who you can never get and would make you feel like an absolute fool if you tried.

Craig’s job, and the location of his job,  is rather strange. He works on the 7 ½ floor, a floor so small that he and the rest of his co-workers  have to bend down in order to walk around it, as standing up straight would cause the low ceiling on a collision path with their heads. The uniqueness of the film arrives here, as behind a cabinet in Craig’s office there is a portal. This portal takes you inside the brain of John Malkovich for exactly fifteen minutes, after that  you fall from the sky and land outside a New Jersey turnpike.

Thus a business is born!  Craig and Maxine decide to charge people for this unique and life altering experience. Why would people want to become John Malkovich? Why not? It’s an escape from their boring everday lives. It’s also such an intriguing experience that it would almost be an impossible opportunity to turn down. Who wouldn’t want to go inside the mind of a famous actor? This of course brings loads of philosophical and paradoxal questions.  For instance, what if John Malkovich decided to go into the mind of John Malkovich? To my excitement he does and the result of Malcovich going into Malkovich’s mind is one of the most odd scenes I have ever seen in the history of film. There are of course, many other complications and interesting interactions  with Malkovich’s mind but explaining them would be too complicated. For instance Maxine is bisexual and wishes to have sex with Lotte but only when Lotte is in Malkovich’s mind. Craig becomes jealous and decides to trick Maxine by pretending Lotte is inside Malkovich’s mind when Craig actually is. Sound weird? Yeah, I thought so.

John Malkovich is outstanding in his role as John Malkovich, which doesn’t sound like much at first. However you have to remember that he’s playing  the public image of himself and a possessed version of himself. It’s hard to explain but at times you forget that Malkovich is playing Malkovich. He’s such a good actor that he can convince you that he’s not himself, while playing himself. Taking this role required the high calibre of acting that Malkovich can proudly say he has. If this film was called Being Tom Cruise I assure you that the film would be rather dull.

In conclusion, there are few films with the courage to be as different as Being John Malkovich is. I cannot think of any film that is similar in anyway, this film is truely in a class of its own. It can be strange but not too strange, dark but not too dark and witty  but can’t fully be classified as a “comedy”. There are great philosophical questions this film can inspire, I assure you that you will be thinking about this film weeks after you have initially seen it. Malkovich, Malkovich, Malkovich. Praise it!  5/5