Being John Malkovich (1999)
review
1999 has been a good year for the movie industry. We've seen some new techniques (The Matrix, Fight Club), new style (Blair Witch Project), virtual stories (The 13th Floor), even indie movies (Go). But only one film is a real mixture of everything new and the surprises of 1999, Being John Malkovich.
Directed by well-known music video director Spike Jonze (he directed Weezer's Buddy Holly, one of my favorite clips) and written by Charlie Kauffman, this movie goes deep into the question of identity from the eyes of a real (and I mean real as in non-fictional) identity without losing the humor and without being too educational.
Craig Schwartz (John Cusack) is a puppeteer. He likes being a puppeteer, because he likes the idea of being somebody else, of controling something else. But like any other puppeteer he doesn't have a job, because "who would want a puppeteer in this wintry economy?". He lives with his wife, Lotte (Cameron Diaz in baggy pants, oversized sweaters, and ugly hairdo) who works in a pet store and has too many pets at home, including a chimp that can experience flashbacks subtitled in English.
To support his family, Craig finds a job at Lestercorp, located at the 7 1/2 floor of Mertin-Flemming building. Low overhead means lower cost. There he meets attractive Maxine.
One day at his job, Craig found a portal leading to the brain of John Malkovich for 15 minutes, and then coming out on the New Jersey Turnpike. Craig was fascinated with this experience of being someone else, especially a celebrity, because in modern day society, everybody wants to be a famous celebrity. He tells this to Maxine and Lotte. Maxine wants to sell it for $200 per person, while Lotte went straight in it and became addicted. She even felt transsexual after her experience, questioning the whole idea of sexual identity.
The three are tangled in a bizzare love triangle, with John Malkovich being the host. John Malkovich himself finally found out about this portal, but Craig could manage to be longer than 15 minutes inside John Malkovich. As Craig takes over John Malkovich, he and Maxine take the opportunity to become famous. And as the end comes near, we see that being a celebrity becomes a bit boring after a while.
The whole concept of being somebody else in this movie is so very well portrayed, including shots from John Malkovich' eyeview. The choice of John Malkovich as the celebrity to enter is perfect. He is famous, but not as highlighted as other big stars such as Brad Pitt or Pamela Anderson. Everybody knows him, but not at first sight.
A wonderful movie, this one will be remembered as a breakthrough movie. And we can sure expect more from Spike Jonze.
Indra Moeljadi is looking for a portal to Brad Pitt's brain.
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