Directed by Spike Jonze.
Starring John Cusack and Cameron Diaz.
Starring John Cusack and Cameron Diaz.
In a Nutshell: A puppeteer discovers and exploits a portal into John Malkovich’s mind.
A furiously inventive take on our celebrity-obsessed culture, with a gleeful execution to match its premise. Being John Malkovich takes a manic comic approach to its identity issues, layering depth in its comedy. A self-pitying puppeteer named Craig (John Cusack) finds employment in the Monty Python-esque 7½ floor of an otherwise inconspicuous corporation. After finding rejection at the aggressive Maxine (Catherine Kenner), Craig discovers a portal that allows him inside the mind of actor John Malkovich for 15 minutes at a time. This John Malkovich is portrayed by the real deal and exhibits the usual Malkovich-ian distance and personal amusement. It is to the real Malkovich’s credit that he manages a sly riff on his own persona without incessantly winking at the audience. This Malkovich also becomes the epitome of celebrity; everybody knows and adores him, but can never remember why.
A furiously inventive take on our celebrity-obsessed culture, with a gleeful execution to match its premise. Being John Malkovich takes a manic comic approach to its identity issues, layering depth in its comedy. A self-pitying puppeteer named Craig (John Cusack) finds employment in the Monty Python-esque 7½ floor of an otherwise inconspicuous corporation. After finding rejection at the aggressive Maxine (Catherine Kenner), Craig discovers a portal that allows him inside the mind of actor John Malkovich for 15 minutes at a time. This John Malkovich is portrayed by the real deal and exhibits the usual Malkovich-ian distance and personal amusement. It is to the real Malkovich’s credit that he manages a sly riff on his own persona without incessantly winking at the audience. This Malkovich also becomes the epitome of celebrity; everybody knows and adores him, but can never remember why.
Craig plans to partner with Maxine to offer up Malkovich’s portal to paying customers with two issues in the way. Craig has fallen madly in lust with Maxine while Craig’s wife Lotte (Cameron Diaz, having fun trying to be ugly) finds a sexual awakening inside Malkovich’s head. She falls for Maxine, with reciprocated feeling, but only when Lotte is in Malkovich. Malkovich himself becomes aware of the portal and the movie gives the surreal pleasure of Malkovich inside Malkovich. It only gets weirder from there.
Both director Spike Jonze and scribe Charlie Kaufman dole out the absurdity gradually, letting their ideas breathe before rolling out new ones. It is a well-paced farce and all the main players shine in the madness. Craig eagerly manipulates Malkovich for his own gains. But Cusack manages a relatable desperation in Craig, rather than misguided selfishness. Keener and Diaz are equally effective while exploring new territory in gender relations. Both Jonze and the cast play the story straight rather than marveling at their own oddities. Whatever analogy is grasped, Being John Malkovich is a delightful brain-twister of limitless surprise. Rarely has the metaphysical been so fun.
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