Being John Malkovich (1999)

Directed by: Spike Jonze | 112 minutes | drama, comedy, fantasy | Actors: John Cusack, Cameron Diaz, Ned Bellamy, Eric Weinstein, Madison Lanc, Octavia Spencer, Mary Kay Place, Orson Bean, Catherine Keener, KK Dodds, Reginald C. Hayes, Byrne Piven, Judith Wetzell, John Malkovich, Kevin Carroll

Few scriptwriters in Hollywood have a style of their own that stands out from the crowd. One of the exceptions to that rule is Charlie Kaufman. His screenplays guarantee bizarre, highly original films. He made his big break with ‘Being John Malkovich’, in which a puppeteer on floor seven and a half of an office building discovers a door that provides access to the brain of actor John Malkovich. Kaufman initially did not lose the script of this film (which would mean his big break) to the paving stones. Until one Spike Jonze, known for the extremely bizarre video clips he directed for, among others, The Beastie Boys, Fatboy Slim and Björk, dared to put his hand in the fire. A golden combination.

Craig Schwartz (John Cusack) is a puppeteer without much success. At the insistence of his wife Lotte (Cameron Diaz), he starts looking for another job. After all, there has to be bread on the table. With his quick fingers, he is extremely suitable for an administrative position. He gets to work on floor seven and a half (!) of an office building in New York. One day, Craig discovers a hidden door in the office. He goes inside and suddenly he finds himself in the brain of actor John Malkovich. He looks through his eyes and experiences what he feels. After a while, he will be pushed out of the head on his own. Upside down from his experience, he tells it to his wife and his seductive colleague Maxine (Catherine Keener). The latter sees this discovery as an excellent way to earn a lot of money.

‘Being John Malkovich’ is not just an absurd comedy, but also makes the viewer think. About identity, for example, and how some people can only be free when their true identity is hidden behind a mask or costume. Manipulation also plays a role. As a puppeteer, Craig manipulates his puppets, but in turn he is manipulated by the beautiful Maxine, who has no good intentions with him and only uses him for his own benefit. The film makes the viewer think about the extent to which manipulation plays a role in his own life. Very abstractly, the film is about acting (experiencing what it’s like to be someone else) and directing (letting others do things for you). Ethics and commercialization can still be mentioned as sub-themes in this complex, but certainly not incomprehensible film.

The fact that Kaufman is a talented writer with a style all his own is apparent from the other modest – but no less impressive – oeuvre of the man. With ingenious, complex gems (leaving the slightly lesser ‘Confessions of a Dangerous Mind’ aside) such as ‘Adaptation’ and ‘Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind’ to his name, he proved that it is still possible as a screenwriter to write a fresh blowing wind through Hollywood. Jonze, on the other hand, seems the right man to translate Kaufman’s surrealism to the silver screen and to pour the many plot twists into a smooth visual style. The actors, including John Cusack and Cameron Diaz, are almost unrecognizable and in great shape (even Diaz!).

But the show is absolutely stolen by John Malkovich (as himself!) who makes us believe like no other that every now and then someone else lives in his upstairs room. Jonze and Kaufman chose him as the title character because he is both well known and quite elusive. His varied choice of film roles, including in ‘The Killing Fields’, ‘Dangerous Liaisons’ and ‘In the Line of Fire’, makes him a well-known, but not very famous person. He is not a superstar and that makes him suitable for this role. Moreover, it is commendable that he dared to play in parody of himself.

‘Being John Malkovich’ is one of those rare films that stirs something in everyone, in one way or another. A great debut for Spike Jonze.