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Being John Malkovich (29-Oct-1999)
Director: Spike Jonze Writer: Charlie Kaufman Music: Carter Burwell Producers: Michael Stipe; Sandy Stern; Steve Golin; Vincent Landay Keywords: Sci-Fi/Comedy, Puppets, Surreal Down-on-his-luck puppeteer Craig Schwartz finds employment as a file clerk in an office with low overhead. Behind a filing cabinet he discovers a portal which, if entered, gives you fifteen minutes in the brain of John Malkovich, then spits you out on the New Jersey Turnpike. Craig enters business with Maxine, a femme fatale from work who has no actual interest in Craig, selling tickets to the John Malkovich experience; it does not go well from there. Fresh and imaginative plot; excellent performances; thoroughly riveting.
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CAST | John Cusack | ... Craig Schwartz | | Cameron Diaz | ... Lotte Schwartz | | Catherine Keener | ... Maxine | | Orson Bean | ... Dr. Lester | | Mary Kay Place | ... Floris | | W. Earl Brown | ... First J.M. Inc. Customer | | Carlos Jacott | ... Larry the Agent | | Willie Garson | ... Guy in Restaurant | | Byrne Piven | ... Captain Mertin | | Gregory Sporleder | ... Drunk at Bar | | Charlie Sheen | ... Charlie | | John Malkovich | ... John Horatio Malkovich | | | In order of appearance | | Ned Bellamy | ... Derek Mantini | | Eric Weinstein | ... Father at Puppet Show | | Madison Lanc | ... Daughter at Puppet Show | | Octavia L. Spencer | ... Woman in Elevator | | K. K. Dodds | ... Wendy | | Reggie Hayes | ... Don | | Judith Wetzell | ... Tiny Woman | | Kevin Carroll | ... Cab Driver | | Gerald Emerick | ... Sad Man in Line | | Bill M. Ryusaki | ... Mr. Hiroshi | | Richard Fancy | ... Johnson Heyward | | Patti Tippo | ... Malkovich's Mother | | Daniel Hansen | ... Boy Malkovich | | Mariah O'Brien | ... Girl Creeped Out by Malkovich | | Kelly Teacher | ... Emily | | | Lester's Friends | | Jacqueline Benoit | ... Lester's Friend | | William N. Buck | ... Lester's Friend | | Christine D. Coleman | ... Lester's Friend | | Jeanne Diehl | ... Lester's Friend | | Audrey Gelfand | ... Lester's Friend | | Yetta Ginsburg | ... Lester's Friend | | Sylvester Jenkins | ... Lester's Friend | | Roy C. Johnson | ... Lester's Friend | | Eddie J. Low | ... Lester's Friend | | Ralph W. Spaulding | ... Lester's Friend | | David Wyler | ... Lester's Friend | | Flori Wyler | ... Lester's Friend | | | Ballet Dancers | | Kevin Lee | ... Ballet Dancer | | Marlowe Bassett | ... Ballet Dancer | | Jennifer Canzoneri | ... Ballet Dancer | | Kristie Cordle | ... Ballet Dancer | | Denise Dabrowski | ... Ballet Dancer | | Kristin D'Andrea | ... Ballet Dancer | | Charlene Grimsley | ... Ballet Dancer | | Christine Krejer | ... Ballet Dancer | | Erica Long | ... Ballet Dancer | | Yvonne Montelius | ... Ballet Dancer | | Jessica Neuberger | ... Ballet Dancer | | Sara Rifkin | ... Ballet Dancer | | Elizabeth Rivera | ... Ballet Dancer | | Chelsa Sjostrom | ... Ballet Dancer | | | Featured Character Voices | | Pamela Hayden | ... Featured Character Voice (voice) | | Jayne Hess | ... Featured Character Voice (voice) | | Michelle Madden | ... Featured Character Voice (voice) | | Greg O'Neill | ... Featured Character Voice (voice) | | Neil Ross | ... Featured Character Voice (voice) | | Bill Wittman | ... Featured Character Voice (voice) |
REVIEWS Review by Walter Frith (posted on 9-Jun-2007) If you
think you've seen it all in Hollywood, you haven't. If you think you've
seen it all in every actor who ever played himself, you haven't. If you
think you'll be in for quite a surprise with 'Being John Malkovich',
you will. This is one of the most bizarre and weirdly obtuse films that
disappointed me at times while it delighted and intrigued me at other
points during its running time. It almost looks like the paradox found
in a Terry Gilliam film with a profound sense of visual attraction
while putting forward the dark side of human personality. Set in New
York City in the present day, the story concerns itself with a
puppeteer named Craig Schwartz (John Cusack). He is the type who works
odd jobs displaying his art and doesn't have a steady job. He sleeps
late and lives with his wife Lotte (Cameron Diaz) who works at a pet
store. Their apartment is flooded with animals. The dogs, cats and
chimps roam around freely and they have many other animals around for
companionship. Craig takes a job working in a most unique place. An
office building has a floor that doesn't show up on the elevator's
button because following the number is 1/2. How can you have 1/2 a
floor? The floor is only about 4 to 5 feet high. Everyone walks hunched
over. The doors are all miniature size and the office furniture fits
just fine as do the employees, as long as they're sitting down. Craig's
job will be that of a file clerk. Since he is a puppeteer, he has fast
fingers and it shows when he's given a test to perform. He's hired. He
meets the office tramp, Maxine (Catherine Keener), who is a foul woman
with a witch like personality. There is a strange sexual attraction
between the two of them which dominates parts of the film. THE PLOT
THICKENS. Craig is working one day when he drops a file folder behind
the filing cabinet. Don't you hate that?! He must move the entire
cabinet out to get the folder. After sliding the cabinet away from the
wall, he notices a board covering something up. Curiosity killed the
cat as they say. After removing the board, there is an old door that
seems to have been abandoned. Upon opening it and crawling inside,
Craig is sucked into its chamber and looks through the eyes of actor
John Malkovich. The door turned out to be a portal into the back of his
head. Bizarre! The only catch is that just when this experience is
getting really exciting (it only lasts 15 minutes), your body is
dispensed from its place and you fall out on to the New Jersey
turnpike. BIZARRE! Yes, this is all true. If it sounds silly and
unbelievable, that's the point. The film drives a wedge between the
boundaries of convincing fantasy and magnifying stupidity. This is all
done with the feeling of inhaling laughing gas. Needless to say that
actor John Malkovich finds out what is happening and tries to stop it.
You see, Craig and Maxine have started a business where people can
enter the portal for 15 minutes and pay $200 for the experience of
being someone else. Through it all is an explanation provided by the
office boss (Orson Bean) of how the portal works and how people can
become transferred from its perception or be imprisoned by its black
hole like draw on human beings. John Cusack is quite an actor. He said
for years he wanted to avoid the trappings of a career enjoyed by
people like Tom Cruise, Tom Hanks or Harrison Ford. It other words,
super stardom. He, like Nicolas Cage in the early days of his career,
has instead opted for the quirky roles in Hollywood. The off beat stuff
and doing a convincing job in any role he chooses to play. He is one of
the best actors in the business without many people knowing it and I'm
sure that drawing attention away from himself is exactly the way Cusack
likes it. The two key female performances in the film are 180 degrees
apart. Cameron Diaz is sweet and innocent. Sort of the naive victim of
the whole thing before her fate is revealed at the end. Catherine
Keener is just the opposite. As mentioned above, her portrayal of
Maxine is that of a foul woman with a witch like personality. You know
her character is just the sort of enigma that will come away without so
much as a scratch. Oscar nominations will be fourth coming but the film
will suffer in the truly high profile categories such as best picture.
While on many "ten best" lists for 1999, the film has a tailor made
look of trying too hard to look original like 1998's 'The Truman Show'
did. Both films share the concept of character confinement before the
truth is revealed but both show how the human experience can be dream
like in nature and while 'Being John Malkovich' is a good film with
things not seen before, it still seems a bit aloof in the way its
resolution comes down but it will be regarded as GREAT film making only
by the most hard core of fans who like fantasy films. Visit FILM
FOLLOW-UP by Walter Frith
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