Taking chances in today's decadent money spin of movie making is something that most people in the business are quite unwilling to do. It seems that long ago, studio execs took several steps back and decided that taking chances wasn't exactly in their best interest. Quite on the contrary, the movie industry has done everything within their ample means, and meager intellect, to establish themselves as a business lacking regret and striding forth to produce quality filth. Their pompous appeasement of the masses, at the core, takes as little risk as is humanly possible. What they've forgotten, apparent to anyone with a three digit I.Q., is that the audience has grown bored watching retread into the same juxtaposed meandering of days gone by and is looking for films that do indeed take major risks.

In steps a pasty white slob, with messy hair and a crooked donkey nose that only a mother could love. At first glance, there's nothing terribly intriguing about Spike Jonze or the way with which he carries himself. It's not until you get past this auspicious exterior and begin to look beyond his lack of commanding stature, that you find a man with more creative courage than most other Hollywood directors would care to acknowledge. You can call him weird or, more to the point, a nerd, but what you certainly can't accuse him of is lacking imagination or not having the guts to push the envelope. Long since the days of the Beastie Boys' video "Sabotage", Spike Jonze has exceeded popular opinion by pleasing himself first and worrying about the audience second. It may seem ill-advised and, heaven forbid, much too risky, but why then does it seem like everything he touches turns to gold? One simple answer...because he isn't trying to please you.

No greater example of this philosophy can be illustrated more appropriately than his first major motion picture outing.."Being John Malkovich". To call this film normal would be like calling Richard Simmons you're average red blooded American, whatever that means. The fact that "Being John Malkovich" deviates from the meat and potatoes market of modern cinema is of no concern to Mr. Jonze. You see, as much as he's trying to entertain you, he doesn't seem to show much concern for appealing to you nor does he sit back and wonder whether or not you'll "get it". What he does do, to great effect, is wander off the path so extremely as to separate his work from all others and, oh my god, give us something new!

This something new comes in the form of a tale so absurd, and at the same time, intriguing, as to catch most movie-goers completely unawares. The set-up is simple, yet the means by which it's achieved so bizarre, that to find yourself not curious would be a position only held by those lacking a right side to their brain. To put it mildly, Jonze crosses the bounds of plausability with such a subtle grace, as to have you believe that tiny doors in walls actually lead to the mental subconscious of other human beings. Sound odd? It is, but it's also fascinating in that it throws off the mask of convention and dares to be different. This, my well versed readers, is not your usual fare.

The story sets about telling the tale of a down-on-his-luck puppeteer named Craig Schwartz, played by John Cusack, who's been having a rough go, as of late, and is desperately seeking employment. His wife Lotte, played by Cameron Diaz, is a naive and caring woman, whose compassion for animals borders on the freakish side of compulsion, as barnyard beasties and primates lurch about their humble flat with inane ease. Craig, who has an uncanny skill with his fingers, finds an ad for a filing clerk job and trots down to land a position he's more than qualified to earn. This, my friends, is where the story begins to turn that clever cheek and we the audience begin to realize that this isn't your average comedic offing. Once on the office building elevator, Craig learns why the filing office address is listed as floor 7 1/2. With a pry bar and a push of the emergency stop button, Craig squeezes off the lift to find himself on a floor with four foot ceilings that he must stoop to enter. What's more surreal is the fact that everyone else is stooping, almost as if there is nothing wrong with the picture and this is simply the average day in your average office setting.

After announcing himself to the quirky office secretary Floris, played by Mary Kay Place, Craig meets the even more quirky figure of Dr. Lester, played by Orson Bean, who's the owner/operator of filing company. Craig is quickly hired in one of the most insane interview segments I can recall, and in turn, stumbles off to his orientation film that explains floor 7 1/2 and its perverse beginnings. Here he meets the spice-drawn sillouette of Maxine, played by Catherine Keener. Schwartz is immediately enraptured with the fetching Maxine and begins rambling off pick up lines that wouldn't work, were he Justin Timberlake talking to your average fifteen year old girl. Job acquired, office romance "bubbling", Craig sorts files with lightening efficiency and begins to feel at home in his Dilbert/Wonderland-esque surroundings.

It isn't until one fateful day, while moving a file cabinet, that the purpose of this story begins to unravel. Behind this hefty cabinet, Craig uncovers a boarded hole in the wall that appears to be a small tunnel digging through the building itself. Curiosity getting the better of him, he crawls into the hole and, much to his surprise (like this needs to be stated), he begins shooting down the rabbit dive and "poof", he's inside the mind of another human being. Not until this man looks in the mirror, does Craig realize that he's ventured into the subconscious of none other than...you guessed it, John Malkovich. The interlude lasts for just a brief minute or two, before Craig is tossed through some sort of temporal hole in the sky, that lands him miles away from the city on the side of an outskirts freeway.

So now that the premise has been given it's basic preparation, we begin to watch Craig explain his findings to the coffee sipping cynic of Maxine and her usual sly rhetoric of dismissing poor Mr. Schwartz. Fortunately for Craig, he convinces Maxine to have a look and after her own fumblings down the tunnel, the two strike a business partnership to use it as a strange means of entrepreneurial gain. Selling tickets down this cerebral vortex, Maxine and Craig start making money hand over fist, as word of mouth spreads around the building and beyond. However, it's not until Craig realizes that aside from visiting Malkovich's mind, he can actually control his speech, body, and eventually conscious mind, do things begin going pear shaped. Hell breaks loose after Mr. Malkovich himself discovers Craig's business location and charges down the hole, only to find a world filled with a thousand Malkovichs, all of whom simply repeat the word...Malkovich.

Right. For those of you who have yet to watch this little beauty, and are still reading, I congradulate you for having the constitution to not click off this page and continue on with your day. The fact is, no matter how outlandish this movie sounds, especially in written explanation, it works on all sorts of levels. First and foremost, the acting of all those involved is truly spell-binding. Not only does Cusack look and act the part of a humble and quiet puppet fiddler, but Cameron Diaz surprised me all over with her haggered, visceral looks and meak warbling tone. Say what you will of Ms. Diaz, but the risks she took appearing in this film, vaulted her on my respect-o-meter by quantum leaps. Blonde bombshell she is, but she shows here that looks and a smile aren't all that her acting palate can stomach, especially considering how unappealing she looks in this picture. Orson Bean and Mary Kay Place also do a fantastic job of giving their characters a moronic overtone of utter stupidity that will have you chuckling with their every appearance. There's also a host of cameo appearances by the likes of Brad Pitt, Dustin Hoffman, Charlie Sheen, and Michelle Pfeiffer, who all play themselves within the day-to-day life of John Malkovich. Lastly, and most importantly, John Malkovich is his usual brilliant self, though playing himself throughout most of the movie couldn't have been that much of a stretch.

The cinematography, by Lance Acord, is stunning, showing a nice use of stark light and playful shadows that give the movie a very clever assortment of looks. The art direction of Peter Andrus is also clever, along with the set decoration of Gene Serdena giving the film a unique, skewed vision of this weird and wonderful world. If there is a fault to the film, it must rest in the editing department, with Eric Zumbrunnen occasionally faltering behind the helm. Not often, but in a few scenes, we find the action cut a bit too hastily, making the jump from moment to moment sometimes seem jerky and pandering. All through though, the editing isn't too much of a distraction to detract from the telling and ambiance of the movie as a whole.

Acting and crew aside, the movie inevitably follows suit because the direction of Spike Jonze and the genius there within. Not all the confetti can be showered upon Jonze's head, as the writing of this tale by Charlie Kaufman is equally magnificent in its conception. However, we've all seen how creative text can be turned into meaningless drivel and how great film-making can be spoiled by a lousy story. What Jonze achieves is to take a whacky, far-fetched screenplay and turn it into a engaging motion picture that has everything that most of today's films do not. A character driven vehicle where the audience is never taken for granted and constantly made to work for every bit of info extracted.

Jonze' visual style also lends itself to making almost any situation seem real, with a steady gaze that never wavers or gives off an air of pretention. In almost every shot, we see a view of this world that is both concise, and at the same time, kiltered to show a reality that seems believable, even with unbelievable action taking place. Hand the manuscript of this film to nearly any other director in Hollywood and you'd find yourself watching a movie that would eventually shrink itself to a parody level, where all things seem ineffectual and the character's action mute. This happens because all too often, the director tries so desperately to have you believe in what you're watching, that the action takes precedence over the story itself, inevitably falling to that moronic plateau of appeasing the less informed viewer.

Jonze doesn't do that, and in my mind, will never do that, because like I said before, he doesn't really care about making films that everyone will enjoy. Spike Jonze is that rare film-maker who makes movies he enjoys, and to hell with what you, the average audience member, finds appealing. To those of us who constantly hunt for that creative piece which ventures from the realm of normalcy, Jonze jumps in and fills that void. It's the very reason why he stands alone in the field of cinematic direction. While everyone else searches vainly for that film that will give them a broad market position, Jonze seems content to sit on the sidelines and wait for what he likes and what will make him happy. These are attributes that all director's should have, and are the attributes that will make the name Spike Jonze stand out for many years to come.


This is my offering to JuiceJW's "Future Of Hollywood Write-Off". Please have a look at the other selections in this write-off, all of whom (listed below) are esteemed members of the Epinions community, and make up some of the best writers on the site. If you wish to find out the purpose of this write-off, please check JuiceJW's profile page to inquire more about said write-off. The listing for each review can be viewed at the site(address listed below) hosted by Ben Ho, which contains links to each review by the participants involved. Enjoy.

MrsNormanMaine
Shadow8
kuuleimomi
dequebec
Sloucho
Stargull
Matt_Harney
mangiotto
Pffrdfdus7
alex_isit
JuiceJW (host)
JonTurner
The_Wood
eplovejoy
Benho
Grouch
Kenshin-guy

Site address: http://futurewo.benho.org/

Recommended:
Yes

Viewing Format: DVD
Video Occasion: Fit for Friday Evening
Suitability For Children: Suitable for Children Age 13 and Older