Review of Being John Malkovich (1999) by Ashley V — 09 Aug 2014

Spike Jonze´s directorial debut and Charlie Kaufman´s breakthrough was undeniably one of the best films of 1999, which was a phenomenal year for cinema with films like "Fight Club", "American Beauty" and "The Matrix" to mention some. "Being John Malkovich" managed to succeed and to be memorable in this year full of cult classics.

Craig Schwartz is an unemployed puppeteer married with a pet obsessed woman called Lotte; Craig manages to get a clerk job in the strange floor 7 1/2 of the Mertin-Flemmer Building, with coworker Maxine who Craig falls in love with despite the fact Maxine shows no interest. Craig discovers a small door that sends him inside the mind of actor John Malkovich, his able to see and sense anything Malkovich does for fifteen minutes before been ejected, he tells Maxine and Lotte about his discovery with each having its own plans for the portal.

With the title "Being John Malkovich" you know that you´re about to see a bizarre and original film but I'm glad to say that's not the only elements this film has. The acting in this film is just amazing thanks to the actors giving everything to make this weird concept work and they succeed with, obviously, John Malkovich being the greatest of them all and kudos for playing along; the characters are quite varied going from unlikeable to a sympathetic victim, are well written and have their own story arcs; Spike Jonze directing is creative, effective, stylish, engaging and even enhances the story in a remarkable way; and finally, the script is just marvelous and has everything: Originality, intelligence, it has some hilarious moments, its unpredictable, good pacing, striking scenes and a variety of well done and strong themes. It should have won the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay.

"Being John Malkovich" is a fascinating film filled with originality and greatness, thanks to Jonze and Kaufman. It must be said that this film is not for everyone because of it's a bizarre concept and as the films goes on it becomes more and more weird but still is a masterpiece and undeniably one of the best films of 1999 and my personal runner up film of that year. A must see film.