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Being John Malkovich
(****)...and many more!
Very occasionally, something comes along. That something can be a good book, music, or a movie in this case. That movie is just so different, so off-the-wall, and so far away from anything anyone could have ever thought possible that it blows you away. This isn't to say that it's following in the tradition of Ingmar Bergman's greatest; to compare "Being John Malkovich" with anything would be to do it a great injustice. "Being John Malkovich" is so deliciously bizarre, madcap, and screw loose that you can't help but fall in love with every shot.
Craig Schwartz (Cusack) is a great puppeteer; and his work is an art. However, no one wants puppets anymore. To make some money, he takes a job as a filing clerk for Dr. Lester (Orson Bean) on the 7 1/2 floor of an office building. One day he accidently drops a file behind a cabinet, and when he moves it he discovers a portal leading into the head of actor John Malkovich.
Craig's in love. He's in love with his sexpot co-worker Maxine (Keener). Craig is also married. To keep Maxine from dropping him, and his wife Lotte (Diaz) happy, he tells them about the portal and soon they've created a business. Imagine, be another person for 15 minutes!
But it's more than that. Soon, Lotte is obsessed with being John Malkovich, and Maxine is in love with Lotte; but only when Lotte is in Malkovich. Craig loves Maxine, and soon learns how to manipulate Malkovich like a puppet.
I feel like I should be telling you everything! There is so much to it; so many crevices to be explored. By writing this review I violate my first rule that I made. I placed this on my top ten list of 1999; and therefore I didn't want to write about anything I placed on that list. But so rarely does something so different come along! To see it inspires you!
I recently read a review of this film that said something along the lines of (I am paraphrasing) "It isn't art, but it's so different from everything else, you know at least that Hollywood hasn't turned everything into a formula." I agree, and I disagree. Whoever said art couldn't be so entertaining? Since when does art have to be about anything? The answer to this is, of course, never. It doesn't have to be about anything great, but it has to be great at what it is. And "Being John Malkovich" is stupendous at what it is.