Being John Malkovich
“Hypnotic” and “Spellbinding” are words that are rarely used to accurately describe a movie in the comedy genre, but that can be the risk one runs by coming up with a concept that is so original, so bizarre, that when that concept finally sees the light of production and release as this film did in 1999, the results can not only be astonishing, but also rather hard to nail down in terms of its themes and meanings in which each individual viewer must challenge themselves to interpret for themselves even while almost all can agree that they were thoroughly entertained during their viewing, which is no small feat for any film of any genre to actually achieve. Much of this can be traced back to screenwriter Charlie Kaufman: Having written the script ten years prior and even back then deciding that John Malkovich would play himself as the key central character (before having ever met Malkovich himself yet), Kaufman was met by potential producers with reactions ranging from how the script was brilliant but would never actually be made for obvious reasons to being made all kinds of offers on the condition that a more famous actor than Malkovich (such as Tom Cruise) be placed in that kind of a role pending a rewrite of the script, but Kaufman refused all such overtures until he got the exact situation that he wanted, even while Malkovich’s own fame, star power, and clout grew throughout the 90s. When approaching Malkovich himself, the actor agreed that the story was tremendous and even went so far as to offer to produce the movie on the condition that he NOT actually have to play himself onscreen in this manner. Within a couple of years after other producers were brought on board, only then did Malkovich relent to give Kaufman exactly what he wanted all along and then neophyte music video helmer Spike Jonze was brought in to direct. One can see as to why Malkovich was solely thought of as being the perfect choice for this, with him being the type of star that effortlessly straddles the line between highly respected leading man and eccentric character actor, along with his own highly unusual real life personality, that of a cipher who carries with him in interviews and public appearances an almost extremely mannered, calm, soft spoken way about him that seems so tightly controlled to the casual observer that it almost seems like an act in and of itself, a public persona of seemingly unreal inner peace to go along with rumors of an eccentric lifestyle led by him as well. Which brings us to the actual (fictional) story at hand here, something that can best be described as a scenario in which we have characters whom are so very unhappy with their own lives (losers) that when they get the chance to live a different life albeit temporaily through the eyes of someone who is not only famous and fairly successful in his chosen field, but for all intents comes off as being quite content in his life as well (Malkovich), they not only jump at the opportunity, they also become obsessed with being able to do it as often as they please, with their greedy, selfish, petty nature making them come off as unsymphathetic and undeserving of any empathy one would have had for their lot in life even before they discovered that they now had access to a certain new, heightened degree of power. The ostensible lead of the film is John Cusack as Craig Schwarz, and Cusack’s normal, earnest milquetoast acting style is altered quite a bit by playing Craig as someone who is NOT the film’s hero but rather its embittered, vindictive villain, an admittedly brilliant but broke puppeteer who carries with him a persecution complex because he feels that “they” won’t give his puppetry a shot at the big time because his chosen art form “raises issues” (although it does get him punched in the face by a pissed off father because his innocent little girl witnesses Craig’s puppet show in a street performance where his uncompromising vision features sexual overtones). Forced to get a job because he’s broke, he goes to work as a file clerk for a strange little company owned and operated by a VERY creepy old man (Orson Bean) who claims to be 105 years old and continuously chats Craig’s ear off with his obscenely grotesque sexual fantasies. Craig also starts to engage in open and direct sexual harassment of a female co-worker named Maxine (Catherine Keener), a sexy yet hard bitch whose unusual reaction is to constantly laugh in his face telling him what a pathetic loser he is and how he can never have her, and yet still encouraging his advances knowing that she can torture him and still have him completely under her control. Keener’s performance is stunning in many ways, as while she can not really be described as conventional MOVIE STAR beautiful, she comes across as an actual, no nonsense, sarcastic, and extremely fuckable type of woman that you might actually encounter in a real life work setting and be willing to risk your job for, made believable more than anything else by the sheer attitude given off by Keener, and she managed to become the sole acting Oscar nominee from this film for Best Supporting Actress. Craig’s shameless lusting for his co-worker is made even more reprehensible considering that he’s MARRIED to his friendly, frumpy wife played by Cameron Diaz who is cast completely against type complete with frizzy hair and unattractive wardrobe, but is still radiant in many ways despite the nutty situations and even nuttier dialogue that she is given as the movie goes on. It’s within a matter of time that Craig discovers a small doorway in the office that leads to the portal within Malkovich’s head, allowing him (and others) to go in for fifteen minutes at a time and live life as a guy whom as said, is seemingly completely happy and content with his own situation in life, and as expected, the experience as such becomes almost an addiction for these lesser souls to escape their own drab existence and manage to finally be someone else, literally leading to a battle of wits in order to do so. That is, until Malkovich gets wise to what’s going on, and suddenly finds that it’s HIS life being turned upside down. And that’s where the film’s greatest conceit comes into play: With a title like Being John Malkovich and featuring some serious acting talent all giving good, solid performances, it turns out to be John Malkovich playing HIMSELF in a fictional, fantasy story that manages to steal the movie outright from everyone else on hand and not only give the best performance on display here, but maybe the single best performance of his career!! An unheard of feat possibly ever in American cinema, and a genuine shock that Malkovich did not receive any serious awards consideration for what he accomplished here, mostly due to the plot development of an exasperated Malkovich threatening legal action for the supernatural portal into his own mind, leading up to Craig simply entering the portal again and this time using his puppetmaster skills to stay inside Malkovich permanently, but only now literally taking full control of the man’s actions in and of itself, actually taking possession of his body as amazingly we watch Malkovich transform from himself into Craig, including adopting not only some of his physical traits but even some of his appearance, not to mention his actual personality also changes into that of the dorky dipshit that we knew Craig to be even as the creepy old man and his equally creepy senior friends reveal their own plans for Malkovich’s poor, abused psyche. The amazing thing throughout the whole movie is that while the effect of the story on the viewer always remains profound, we never seem to run out of funny, humorous moments, some of which just come straight out of left field (such as an ape having a flashback or a random pickup truck driving past and hitting Malkovich in the head by throwing a beer can at him while yelling “Hey Malkovich! Think fast!” when they would have no way of knowing who he was). More than ever proving that if you try and set out to write something that no one else has ever seen before and manage to do it right, you can rock people right out of their collective consciousness as Charlie Kaufman did here, with an ending that is at once upbeat, sad, and disturbing (especially Craig’s final fate) and shows that high quality still exists somewhere in the depths of the Hollywood landscape as we know it…
10/10