BEING JOHN MALKOVICH review

Well folks, I’ve got a ton of writing to do tonight. I’ve seen tons of films recently... had tons of adventures... and yet I can only type up one story, one review, one journey at a time.

Why am I writing about BEING JOHN MALKOVICH first?

Because... it’s Brilliant. Hands down, it is just one of those films. A movie that is perfect without any flaw at all. At least none that I could spot with a single viewing.

This is a film that is exploding with ideas and emotions.... A movie bustling with quirks and visual nerves.

And it’s the type of film that you never expect fully. Now I went in knowing that through some sort of plot device there was a way that all these characters could be dropped into the mind and look out of the eyes of John Malkovich for a mere 15 minutes.

Now on every possible level this sounds lame to me. I love Malkovich in films, but on some sort of weird level I get the idea that he could stare down a metronome for hours on end. It’s not like he’s a porn star.... or any number of other... allegedly more adventurous individuals...

And ya know... other than at the performance level.... this isn’t really about John Malkovich, though it purports to be all about him.

No... this is about seeing the world from another set of eyes. It’s about THE PRINCE AND THE PAUPER. It’s seeing a different lifestyle... different sensations. Being merely a passenger, looking through another person’s windshield.

Imagine that.

Now, imagine you have a filmmaker that combines the absolute best qualities from Tim Burton, Terry Gilliam and some of DR STRANGELOVE.... This is an absurdist fable, that while being funny as all hell, is at another level a sad comment on the vicarious thrills of filmgoing to me.

What?

Well... It’s like this. We... as filmgoers pay our admission to venture into another’s head. Not for 15 minutes... but for 2 hours. And for those 2 hours we don’t have the worries or concerns we had for the other 22 hours of the day.

It’s about the dangers of falling to much in love with what you see... to the point that you never want to leave that screen. Where suddenly that becomes your life. And you can’t let go. Your own personality becomes a sad reflection of the porthole that you peer from. You watch the waves of another’s life.

But... that isn’t enough for you. You decide you need to pull the strings... you want to take this baby for a ride and ya know... In a strange way, I believe BEING JOHN MALKOVICH is a condemning statement upon the lifestyle of the Film Critic.

A person that spends their life through others’ lives and art, never really creating their own... always being sated by commenting upon what they see. Perhaps commenting strongly enough that they can change what happens on that screen sometimes... but ultimately, never really willing to step out from behind the curtain to ride in that balloon themselves.

Holy shit, I am way off on a tangent here... let’s see if I can get back on target.

The film is brilliant and original and daring. I really don’t want to go into describing this movie for you. Know simply that this is something that you haven’t seen. It’s the sort of film that once upon a time you would imagine being made if Woody Allen teamed up with Orson Welles (when he was 32) and George Melies and then Preston Sturges came in and did a re-write on the project after the Capra pass...

This movie is beautifully strange. And right now... this very second I feel proud as all hell to be a film goer and film fan. This medium isn’t pabulum for the masses. This isn’t a medium run completely by a bunch of suits. There is passion and originality. And in a week that sees the releases of BEING JOHN MALKOVICH, THE INSIDER, PRINCESS MONONOKE, MAN OF THE CENTURY, AMERICAN MOVIE and MUSIC OF THE HEART and then someone presumes to tell me that they ‘just don’t make em like they used ta’... well.... The problem with Hollywood is the dependency upon making movies like they used ta. Of course their ‘used ta’ is based only upon films since 1976....

However, this... this is something new. Do not hesitate for one second to see this movie. Spike Jonze is as exciting a filmmaker as we have ever seen. If this movie doesn’t at least pick up nominations for Original Screenplay (Charlie Kaufman), Director (Spike Jonze), Best Actor (Malkovich), Best Supporting Actress (Cameron Diaz), Original Score (Carter Burwell), Best Picture, Best Cinematography (Lance Acord) and probably some more... well then... to hooey with the whole damn Academy process.

I’m hoping and praying that this film gets the recognition it deserves. Now.... after having seen this and PITCH BLACK.... I’m beginning to be reminded a bit of ol ORION PICTURES.... this USA FILMS group... they seem to really have their shit together... Let’s see what happens next from them... but more so... Let’s follow every single step of Spike Jonze... this film is genius.