Being John Malkovich ****
rated R USA Films 112 minutes starring John Cusack, Cameron Diaz, Catherine Keener, Orson Bean, Mary Kay Place, John Malkovich, Charlie Sheen written by Charlie Kaufman directed by Spike Jonze
You know John Malkovich. He's the darkly compelling actor with awkward features who graced the screen in films such as `Dangerous Liaisons', `Of Mice And Men' and `In The Line Of Fire'. Few would deny that he is one of America's most underappreciated actors, yet even fewer would think him a good subject for a fictional feature film. However, with the weird and wildly original `Being John Malkovich', director Spike (`You Mean The Little Cubes You Put In Hot Water To Make Soup?') Jonze and writer Charlie Kaufman have proven to be part of that minority.
The word quirky doesn't even begin to describe the eccentricity that is `Being John Malkovich'. John Cusack plays Craig Schwartz, an unemployed puppeteer who, after being urged by his homely wife, Lottie (Cameron Diaz), gets a job as a filing clerk at a company called LesterCorp.
You see, LesterCorp. is on the 7 1/2 floor of an office building in New York City, which means that you can't stand up in your office, and that it takes some precise planning to get there by elevator. On the 7 1/2 floor, he meets Maxine (Catherine Keener), a beautiful woman who isn't interested in him. On the 7 1/2 floor, he meets Lester (Orson Bean), his boss who claims to be over 100 years old. And on the 7 1/2 floor, he finds a portal that allows you to spend 15 minutes in John Malkovich's brain before ejecting you into a ditch on the New Jersey Turnpike. No joke.
`Being John Malkovich' may sound weird so far, but believe me, things do get weirder. The `love triangle' involving Craig, Lottie, Maxine and John Malkovich is perhaps the oddest relationship ever put to film. And yes, Cameron Diaz does get locked up in a cage with a monkey and scream `you're ruining my actualization as a man!'
John Malkovich is a wonder. As himself, he gives one of his edgiest performances to date, and certainly his most accurate. In the film, we see a self deprecating Malkovich reading the Wall Street Journal, notifying a cab driver that he never played an art thief, and trying to seduce an obsessed fan.
Director Spike Jonze, who directed the video for Weezer's `Buddy Holly' as well as starring in `Three Kings', has come out of nowhere to help create the year's most original comedy. With a taut and clever script by Charlie Kaufman, and a uniformly excellent ensemble cast, `Being John Malkovich' stands out as a distinct work of modern art.
It's hard to write a coherent review about a film this dazzling. `Being John Malkovich' is a mind boggling head trip that proves that independent spirit still exists in the world of mainstream filmmaking. Without giving away anything more about it, let me say that this film is truly one to seek out. A dark comedy classic.
a review by Akiva Gottlieb akiva@excite.com http://cinemania.8m.com
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