Despite its
three Academy Award nominations, the lack of a
Best Picture nomination for "Being John
Malkovich" helped remind fans of independent
cinema of the true irrelevance of the Academy
Awards. "Being John Malkovich" is, without a
doubt, one of THOSE films...You know the ones I
am talking about...they are so unique, so
transforming that they change the way one looks
at movies forever.
"Being John Malkovich" is about a man, Craig
Schwartz (John Cusack), who takes a job on the 7
1/2 floor of a building and meets the quirky
Maxine (Catherine Keener). While Craig is
married to Lotte (Cameron Diaz), the attraction
to Lotte is undeniable. One day, behind an
office file cabinet, Craig discovers a portal
into the brain of actor John Malkovich. He
shares the discovery and, thus, begins a small
business of leading tours into the portal. The
story becomes a multi-faceted story of greed,
fame, relationships and self-awareness.
The script by Charlie Kaufman is inventive and
constantly fresh. There are so many ideas here,
each worth of their own film and yet melding
together perfectly to create a remarkable visual
and intellectual presentation. Even the ultimate
selection of John Malkovich for the "portal" is
a stroke of genius. I mean, truly, can you
imagine how awful this film may have been if it
had been penned as "Being Brad Pitt?" Malkovich
has always presented as unique anyway, with a
presentation that is intense, fiery, funny and
detached. Watching the workings of this mind
from the inside are funny, sad and always
interesting. While this feels far from your
usual Malkovich film, it is perhaps one of his
most brilliant performances.
Director Spike Jonze handles the fesivities
well, balancing the various characters with a
sort of irreverent sensitivity. Jonze, Keener
and Kaufman received Oscar nominations, and the
film won several Independent Spirit Awards (a
much more relevant award to this critic).
There are lots of films whose filmmakers seem to
be trying to scream out "Look at me, I'm
different." Then, there are those films that
simply go out and get the job done. "Being John
Malkovich" for me, served as a reminder that in
a world that is constantly striving to go
somewhere, sometimes the ultimate insight is
gained from simply "being."
This is a wonderful film directed by Spike Jonze,
and featuring outstanding performances by John
Cusack, Catherine Keener and Cameron Diaz with a
script cleverly written by Charlie Kaufman.
Jonze, Kaufman and Keener all received Oscar
nominations here, but surprisingly the film came
up empty. I suppose it was just too different
and too alternative for your average Academy
voter. That's sad, as it was clearly in a class
of its own when released in 1999. In awards that
mean far more to me, the film picked up the
prize for Best First Feature over $500,000, Best
First Screenplay and Best Actor from the
Independent Spirit Awards. This film is
brilliant, unique and wonderfully filmed &
acted. I highly recommend it.
©
Written by Richard Propes
TC Candler's Comment
One of the
great screenplays of the decade... this film
will be one to watch many times over the years.
I loved every minute of this film!
Jacob
Hall's Comment
N/A
