Review of Human Nature (2001) by Ben W — 07 Dec 2004

[b]Being John Malcovich[/b]: It was a mind-blast when I saw this wonderful piece from first-timer Charlie Kaufman, but then I realized that it was trying to dig a bit too deep into its dark and quirky characters (IE Cameron Diaz's character).

[b]Human Nature[/b]: Sure I laughed and all, but it was lacking the mind-bending spirit of BJM and wasn't quite sure of where it was going the entire time. Good, but nothing close to greatness.

[b]Adaptation[/b]: My favorite Kaufman film. It observes Kaufman's own self-loathing mind mixed in with thoughtful insights, blitzing reality, great humor, and some truly genius writing. As watching it again as of recent, I was just thinking how someone can [i]write[/i] something like that. Like Kaufman says, he's made an Ouroboras of himself writing a film about him writing the film we're watching. The last third of the film is simply genius at its apex.

[b]Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Woman[/b]: Dropping off the depressing style of BJM and the loathesome spirit of Adaptation, this film paints a great picture of a relationship in its deepest stage---separation. The two characters can't stand each other any more, but upon their wanted deletion of memories of each other, Carrey's character sees that these memories are the great moments that make up our life and doesn't want them lost. It mixes peaking happiness with the depression of the saddest kind of loss---losing our memories. And what lovely direction it has, too! The special effects are amazing.

[b]Confessions of a Dangerous Mind[/b]: Though it doesn't have the same flow or feel of the other Kaufman scripts, it still has his signature brand of dark humor. This one also has a feel of 'ultima-cool' to it, and that's always a good thing. Nothing astounding or new about it, but its still a cool movie.