Being a film critic...
"Being John Malkovich"
Overall Rating: ***
Last summer, while watching "South Park" on TV, I saw a commercial that looked like it got lost on the way to Art Bell's show. The commercial urged people to go to the JM Incorporated website, and there, JM Incorporated offered its customers the chance to be someone else. As it turned out, JM Incorporated was merely a very creative gimmick to promote "Being John Malkovich"--it's the company founded by two characters in this film. The gimmick worked, because it got me curious about a film I'd never heard of before, and the film is almost as imaginative as its advertising.
Craig Schwartz (John Cusack) lives a strange life. As an unemployed puppeteer, he is caught in a catch-22; he won't resort to stunts like his rivals use, but he won't play to the traditional audience of kids, either. He has a strained relationship with his wife, Lotte (Cameron Diaz), a pet store owner who seems more concerned with her parrot, chimpanzee, dog, ferret, and iguana than she is with him. Forced by economic necessity to take a job as a file clerk, he soon stumbles on a supernatural portal that leads into the mind of stage and screen actor John Malkovich (played by Malkovich). This portal has potential--both a business opportunity and as a self improvement tool for Craig.
The big problem with "Being John Malkovich" is that most of the characters are odious and manipulative. None of the characters seem to have a problem hijacking someone else's body, for instance. The film worked against itself for me, because it's about the type of people I generally don't want to see glorified in films.
However, while they don't play the types of characters I'd like to see, the actors did a good job. John Cusack does extremely well. Cusack almost makes his awkward character sympathetic, despite the fact that his character winds up locking his wife in the chimpanzee cage. Cameron Diaz is also wonderful as the consummate animal lover. She has her character's neuroses down pat--and yes, it's the same Cameron Diaz that was in "There's Something About Mary," but the difference between the parts, and even her appearance, is like night and day. Orson Bean is charming in his relatively small part as Dr. Lester--an enigmatic man of 105 who is obsessed with sex.
The film also has a delightful wit. For instance, floor 7½ in the skyscraper was perfect; aside from the humorous aspects of a skyscraper having one floor with five-foot ceilings, there's the nice symbolism in that, while the floor was designed for midgets (or so the story goes), it is now occupied by people who are spiritually rather than physically small. Then there's nice the touch that Craig, who is very controlling, is a puppeteer--a point not missed by Craig himself--enriched by the fact that he chooses to put on a marionette show of "Abelard and Heloise." Craig can't find love even when he controls both people.
Despite the nice touches, the filmmakers leave some big questions open. The film never reveals who built the portal or why; this isn't as serious as it sounds, since the whole film is outlandish. The real flaw is in the "big, existential" (as Craig puts it) questions raised by the portal. Craig finds happiness as John Malkovich: is he happy because he is someone else, or because he thinks that being someone else will solve his problems? Determinism or free will? Unfortunately, the filmmakers leave their view on the subject obscured.
"Being John Malkovich" is not a family film. There is some violence, though not much (two sequences where characters threaten each other with guns, several temper tantrums). There is also significant strong language and one scene where a character smokes marijuana. The big concern would be the sexual content; despite having no nudity, the sexual content is very prominent.
"Being John Malkovich" is on the short list for being the strangest film of all time; this one makes "Fight Club" look like realism. It may be hailed by some as an intellectual and artistic triumph, but I'm not convinced. Like its misguided hero, I don't think it realizes its full potential. Still, it has its moments, and whether you're John Malkovich or not, it may be worth a look.
Title: "Being John Malkovich"
Release date: 10/29/99 (limited)
MPAA rating: R
Overall rating: ***
Aprox. run time: 113 min.
Director: Spike Jonze
Writer: Charlie Kaufman
Stars: John Cusack, Cameron Diaz, Catherine Keener (as Maxine), John Malkovich
Overall Rating: ***
Last summer, while watching "South Park" on TV, I saw a commercial that looked like it got lost on the way to Art Bell's show. The commercial urged people to go to the JM Incorporated website, and there, JM Incorporated offered its customers the chance to be someone else. As it turned out, JM Incorporated was merely a very creative gimmick to promote "Being John Malkovich"--it's the company founded by two characters in this film. The gimmick worked, because it got me curious about a film I'd never heard of before, and the film is almost as imaginative as its advertising.
Craig Schwartz (John Cusack) lives a strange life. As an unemployed puppeteer, he is caught in a catch-22; he won't resort to stunts like his rivals use, but he won't play to the traditional audience of kids, either. He has a strained relationship with his wife, Lotte (Cameron Diaz), a pet store owner who seems more concerned with her parrot, chimpanzee, dog, ferret, and iguana than she is with him. Forced by economic necessity to take a job as a file clerk, he soon stumbles on a supernatural portal that leads into the mind of stage and screen actor John Malkovich (played by Malkovich). This portal has potential--both a business opportunity and as a self improvement tool for Craig.
The big problem with "Being John Malkovich" is that most of the characters are odious and manipulative. None of the characters seem to have a problem hijacking someone else's body, for instance. The film worked against itself for me, because it's about the type of people I generally don't want to see glorified in films.
However, while they don't play the types of characters I'd like to see, the actors did a good job. John Cusack does extremely well. Cusack almost makes his awkward character sympathetic, despite the fact that his character winds up locking his wife in the chimpanzee cage. Cameron Diaz is also wonderful as the consummate animal lover. She has her character's neuroses down pat--and yes, it's the same Cameron Diaz that was in "There's Something About Mary," but the difference between the parts, and even her appearance, is like night and day. Orson Bean is charming in his relatively small part as Dr. Lester--an enigmatic man of 105 who is obsessed with sex.
The film also has a delightful wit. For instance, floor 7½ in the skyscraper was perfect; aside from the humorous aspects of a skyscraper having one floor with five-foot ceilings, there's the nice symbolism in that, while the floor was designed for midgets (or so the story goes), it is now occupied by people who are spiritually rather than physically small. Then there's nice the touch that Craig, who is very controlling, is a puppeteer--a point not missed by Craig himself--enriched by the fact that he chooses to put on a marionette show of "Abelard and Heloise." Craig can't find love even when he controls both people.
Despite the nice touches, the filmmakers leave some big questions open. The film never reveals who built the portal or why; this isn't as serious as it sounds, since the whole film is outlandish. The real flaw is in the "big, existential" (as Craig puts it) questions raised by the portal. Craig finds happiness as John Malkovich: is he happy because he is someone else, or because he thinks that being someone else will solve his problems? Determinism or free will? Unfortunately, the filmmakers leave their view on the subject obscured.
"Being John Malkovich" is not a family film. There is some violence, though not much (two sequences where characters threaten each other with guns, several temper tantrums). There is also significant strong language and one scene where a character smokes marijuana. The big concern would be the sexual content; despite having no nudity, the sexual content is very prominent.
"Being John Malkovich" is on the short list for being the strangest film of all time; this one makes "Fight Club" look like realism. It may be hailed by some as an intellectual and artistic triumph, but I'm not convinced. Like its misguided hero, I don't think it realizes its full potential. Still, it has its moments, and whether you're John Malkovich or not, it may be worth a look.
Title: "Being John Malkovich"
Release date: 10/29/99 (limited)
MPAA rating: R
Overall rating: ***
Aprox. run time: 113 min.
Director: Spike Jonze
Writer: Charlie Kaufman
Stars: John Cusack, Cameron Diaz, Catherine Keener (as Maxine), John Malkovich
Labels: Movie review, ReviewsbyJohn
posted by John at 12/06/1999 07:51:00 PM
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