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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.
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Although I loved Being John Malkovitch and thought it had the most brilliantly original story I've seen in years, the pace faltered. Specifically when John Cusack's character locked Lotte in the cage. Lotte's obsession catapulted the story into the second act and to have her suddenly restrained was a total drag. It would have been difficult and complicated with her still around, but Jonze should have worked harder to make it work. I loved the jewel thief movie Malkovitch never made and the Malkovitch restaurant scene -- brilliant. It doesn't hurt that I'm a huge Malkovitch fan and have seen almost every film he's been in. Bright future for Jonze, for sure.
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In my next posting -- everything's backwards for me today. I feel like Merlin.
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I'm really surprised that the talk-backs are so scarce on this one. I guess people are too busy discussing Wolverine's costume and looking at plywood from the Lord of the Rings to talk about the most amazingly original film this year. For me it is in the same mind-bending, thought-provoking category as "Pi" and "Gattaca." All great fantasy/sci-fi films that can't get real recogniton even from genre fans. Thinking fans really need to support these kinds of films or we will be stuck with nothing but dreck like "Lost in Space." "Being John Malkovich" made me laugh and it made me think. There isn't too much out there in popular entertainment that can do both.
This may mark me as an intellectual snob, but after I saw "Being John Malkovich," I commented that there should be a minimum IQ bar for this movie, like the minimum height bar for some amusement park rides. Below a certain level, you might as well save your money, you have no chance of appreciating, let alone understanding this movie. That said, I hope that the Academy and other award-giving bodies won't let the whole wierdness of John Malkovich playing himself put them off one of the truly great, totally fearless performances in recent years. It really works out as if Malkovich was playing an actor who just happens to be named John Malkovich. It would be essentially the same movie (although a bit less brain-twisting) if the character was an actor named, say, Freddie Jones, being played by John Malkovich. It would be wonderful to see them get awards for their incredibly original screenplay also.
P.S. Anyone who is interested in puppets and puppeteering (which is a fantastic, extremely well-done element in this film) should visit the Puppet Museum in Atlanta. It is only in the U.S. that puppetry is strictly for children, as the wonderful exhibits at this hidden treasure of a museum clearly show. John Cusack's character could have had a great career as a puppeteer - he just needed to get out of New York! -
BJM is a work of genius. My favorite movie in a year of great movies. It's hilarious, disturbing, and the weirdest movie in years. I agree, it's refreshing to see a real Fantasy on the screen, one that makes it's own rules, but doesn't have to stick to the rules of either reality or logical-sounding "scientific" explanations. It's a wild, fun ride, but that last scene just grabs you and sticks.
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Im going to this film for the third time tonight. Did anyone else notice Mr Durden's subliminal appearance? Well, it wasnt really subliminal, but it was pretty damn quick. Seeing how both films deal with vicarious existence (Ed pictures himslef as Brad, everyone pictures themselves as Malcovich), i thought a breif (almost subliminal, just like his intro in FIGHT CLUB) cameo by Tyler was absolutely perfect.
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The Orson Bean character mentioned something about getting trapped inside a host body and being helpless. Did the ending mean that that is what became of John Cusack's character? He keeps repeating "Look away. Look away."
OR
Did his obsession with the Catherine Keener character, actually make him inhabit the mind and body of little girl just so that he could be close to her (I found that kinda' disturbing).
The folks I saw it with thought it was the latter. I thought it was the former, because Cusack kept saying "Look away," like he had no control over the situation. What did y'all think? -
]: This movie is very good, original, funny, unsettling, pathetic, and illuminating. Definitely worth an evening ticket price. Due to special effects, you
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Thank you for your review of this movie. My wife and I saw it and both loved it. We were surrounded by people, however, that just didn't "get it". They thought it was too strange or confusing.
We couldn't understand what there was to not like. Every seen was at the very least interesting, if not flat out hilarious.
Thanks for affirming our opinion!
kellybob -
Just snuck in a viewing of BJM during a long lunch & just had to add my .02 worth. This has to be one of the most original films I can recall in a while (my A.D.D is probably clouding the other movies I would compare it to). This is one of those movies you go see w/ friends so you can have a drink afterwards & talk about it. IT's been out for a little while now & i'm dissappointed that I waited this long to see it. Run to this film if you haven't seen it yet!
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Malkovich? Malkovich? Malkovich, Malkovich Malkovich? MALKOVICH! MALKOVICH!!
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overall--good flick. but I hate Catherine Keener.
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Am I the only person on the planet who didn't find this film "brilliant"? Am I the only person on the planet who thinks that Spike Jonze is laughing his butt off every time he hears some movie-goer describe his film as "genius"?
Don't get me wrong, I liked the movie. Every time the portal kept spitting people out on the New Jersey turnpike and making that "shhhhooph" sound I was cracking up. But I didn't find the rest of it all that hilarious. And I'm not sure I found any of it "brilliant". It seems to me that any movie where the plot could be thought up by a couple of guys on some really good weed doesn't deserve to be given the genius label.
But it was original, no doubt about it. I'm fairly certain that Mr. Jonze is going to have one heck of a career.
I can't believe that some exec actually greenlit this sucker. That's the person who deserves the Academy Award. -
Well Harry, I must say that I agree with you COMPLETELY about your review of "Being John Malkovich."
What was so great about it was how unorthodox it is. The 7 1/2 floor, the fact that the office has a portal into John Malkovich's head and the fact that you get dumped on the side of the New Jersey Turnpike. Need I say more.
I certainly hope that the academy does not overlook this great movie. I would love to see it take the top prize, but I fear the academy might pass it by because it is so unorthodox.
I hope this is not the case. -
Spike Jonze I guess is a fairly remarkable piece of ass. Any retards who think the romance or whatever in The Next Best Thing should watch this gem.
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The person saying "look away" at the end was John Mackovitch. When the old folks moved into his brain, the original got booted out. The Cusak (sp) character left on his own and took the missing board with him.
A lot of the story was about Power and Control. The Maxine character had no respect for the puppeteer untill she learned that he could control JM. After the performance in the bedroom she said "It's about controlling people". She was a controlling, manipulative Bitch, cotrolling and exploiting others for her own selfish pleasure.
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