Being John Malkovich

(c) 1999 Universal Pictures International BV.
all rights reserved
photo: Melissa Moseley

Alice in Wonderland meets Dr. Faustus in a world where gender bending goes mind bending and soul searching winds up in a whirlpool of torment and possession. Sound like a comedy? Well, it most definitely is. This film will not only keep you laughing, but also thoroughly entertained and astonished; both amused and bemused at the same time. Welcome to a new world where your footing is never sure and the ceilings are closing in.

Craig Schwarz (John Cusack) is a sleep-in late, alternative- lifestyled, artistic street puppeteer who survives, for the most part, off the earnings of his wife Lotte (Cameron Diaz). Lotte, an animal lover with a sensitive side who spends her time at home talking to the parakeet and worrying about her pet chimp's acid stomach, is also heavily concerned with Craig's plight. She suggests that he find a job, at least until things pick up for him in the puppeteering market. Whenever he sits at home, his frustrations only become more enhanced by the notoriety of a puppeteer mega-star (big like in David Copperfield proportions) whose frequent appearances on television inordinately rub salt into Craig's wounds.

(c) 1999 Universal Pictures International BV.
all rights reserved
photo: Melissa Moseley

He finally finds a paid position as a filing clerk at a company on the 7th and a half floor of the Merton-Flemmer Building working for a company where everyone crouches because of the "low overhead." As employee indoctrination begins, his eyes catch sight of the ravishing Maxine (Catherine Keener) who immediately becomes an obsession for him. He must have her, but she doesn't want to know anything about it. When she meets Lotte, however, her interests take another turn, but there are (naturally) barriers to be overcome. All tides are about to turn, as a matter of fact, once Craig accidentally drops a file behind a cabinet and attempts to retrieve it. Alice's inimitable "drink me" door opens upon an unexpected world for Craig and many others. What occurs once the dark tunnel is opened and entered must be seen to be believed.

Love, frustrations, desires, obsessions, affections, lusts, and egos dance around inside the empty and filled vessels on the screen. The addiction has hit upon a portion of the populace and the victims are falling out of the sky. What could be more human? Doesn't everyone want to have a life? And if you don't have one, maybe you can get one for $200 and a twenty-minute ride. There are undoubtedly many people roaming the earth who might prefer being a star in order to experience real life, even if only for short time. What exactly would you give to be John Malkovich?

This fantastic voyage signals both the feature directorial debut of video director Spike Jonze and the feature screenwriting debut of Charlie Kaufman. The union is a fascinating one. Kaufman, commenting on his mind-boggling creation, says, "I wrote Being John Malkovich without an outline, blindly, with no sense of direction or purpose. I don't have any interest in working that way. It's important to me that I don't have a map before I start. This allows me to surprise myself, stay engaged, discover things, and, hopefully allows the unconscious to surface. So I had some characters in mind and I had some things I was interested in, either because they made me anxious or sad or angry or horny or lonely or because they seemed funny. Just a bunch of things I was drawn to. And I combined them. As I did this, different ideas came up or stories evolved and I incorporated them, went back and made the necessary revisions, then continued working like this until I was done."

Catch, if you can, flashes of such people as Brad Pitt, Michelle Pfeiffer, and Winona Ryder as well as other tantalizing figures who burst onto the screen and disappear just as quickly as the Goethe program does past our dazzled eyes. Are these the stars you idolize or are they empty vessels hoarding secrets of immortality? What do you think? Want to go along for the ride?

Cusack, who perfectly portrays the dimensions demanded by his role as celebrant, says that the film is "the sickest thing I could ever conceive of: totally original, totally new, intricate, twisted, sophisticated, and lowbrow - all at the same time. It's like an Escher painting. It has doors and stairways leading into themselves. It's totally wild."

The tale of Faust has been told in many ways. This is, without question, one of the most entertaining and contemporary ways.

A MUST SEE

I wish you all a Malkovich Malkovich Malkovich.