Being John Malkovich Review
by Eugene Novikov (lordeugene_98 AT yahoo DOT com)October 28th, 1999
Being John Malkovich (1999)
Reviewed by Eugene Novikov
http://www.ultimate-movie.com/
Member: Online Film Critics Society
"Don't stand in the way of my actualization as a man."
Starring John Cusack, Cameron Diaz, Catherine Keener, Orson Bean, John Malkovich Rated R.
As many of us have long suspected, and as Being John Malkovich proves, the people behind the enigma we know as Hollywood really should be institutionalized. I don't know what idiot had the bright idea to finance this insane movie, but whoever it was should get an honorary Oscar. The result is an exercise in bona fide originality, a wacky, weird film that is surreal and straight-forward at the same time. "Offbeat" doesn't even begin to describe it.
An abstract of the plot will give some of you the temptation to dive for your browser's "Back" button, but stay with me. The film stars John Cusack as Craig Schwartz, an unhappily married (to Cameron Diaz, whom I didn't even recognize until a third of the way into the movie) puppeteer who is forced to get a day job at Lester Corp., a filing business on the 7 1/2th floor of a skyscraper where the ceilings are so low, the employees have to stoop the whole time. The company is headed by 105 year-old Dr. Lester, whose odd secretary has convinced him that he is suffering from a speech impediment even though he speaks clearly.
So one sunny afternoon, as Craig is merrily filing away, a stack of papers falls behind a cabinet. Craig moves the cabinet away from the wall and is shocked to discover a little door, which opens to a passageway just big enough for him to crawl through. Curious, he goes in. After a few feet, the door is shut and he is sucked deeper into the hole until he reaches John Malkovich. Let me clarify. This rabbit hole that Craig finds is -- yes -- a portal into the head of John Malkovich, the actor. For 15 minutes, you get to experience the world through John Malkovich's eyes, until you are thrown in a ditch by the New Jersey Turnpike.
It gets weirder yet. You see, Craig falls for his sexy co-worker Maxine (Catherine Keener)... and so does his wife, who all of a sudden realizes that she wants to be a man. When Maxine starts actually dating Malkovich, both Craig and his wife use the portal to have sex with Maxine via Malkovich. Meanwhile, Craig and Maxine start a service: for some $200 a pop, you can be John Malkovich for 15 minutes.
Alright, you can catch your breath. I can wait.
All done? Good. My first order of business, then, is to inform you that even though you may have been positively repulsed by my plot synopsis, Being John Malkovich is a masterpiece of lunacy. Love it or hate it, it's the most inventive thing to come about since The Truman Show. The idea itself seems inconceivable. I'm not sure who thought of it, but whoever did has a great future in Hollywood. Even more importantly, Hollywood needs him.
The brilliance of Being John Malkovich is in the execution as well as the concept. First time director Spike Jonze made one genius move: his movie never admits just how weird it is. The script is way out there, but everything is laid out in a matter-of-fact style. In effect, the film is the epitome of deadpanning, which is exactly what makes it so effective. There is a point in the middle of the film where Cameron Diaz tells John Cusack not to "stand in the way of her actualization as a man." The line is hilarious, the funniest thing I've heard all year. And yet unlike any gag the Austin Powers sequel, for instance, it doesn't feel like it was intended to elicit gales of laughter. So we laugh in retrospect rather than right then and there. And ya know what? It's been a week and the joke only gets funnier.
Kudos to the real two-time Oscar nominee John Malkovich for agreeing to play this slightly exaggerated version of himself. The role stops just short of self-parody; the actor is never jeered or mocked. Indeed, this is probably Malkovich's best role and best performance to date. I strongly believe that the hardest role to play is yourself. John Malkovich's work here should not be ignored come award time.
I saw Being John Malkovich immediately after Mansfield Park, which was unoriginal and mostly uninteresting. I appreciated Malkovich that much more. It's a film to treasure.
Grade: A-
©1999 Eugene Novikov
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