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Being John Malkovich
Being John Malkovich Image
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Metascore
90 out of 100

Universal acclaim - based on 36 Critics What's this?

User Score
8.2 out of 10

Universal acclaim- based on 93 Ratings

Your Score
10 out of 10
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  • Starring: Cameron Diaz, Catherine Keener, John Cusack, John Malkovich
  • Summary: An out-of-work puppeteer (Cusack) takes a filing clerk job on the cramped 7 ½ floor of an office building where he discovers a hidden tunnel allowing him to enter the mind and life of actor John Malkovich for 15 mintues before being ejected onto the New Jersey Turnpike.

Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 36 out of 36
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 36
  3. Negative: 0 out of 36
  1. New York Post
    Reviewed by: Lou Lumenick
    100
    Being John Malkovich, which contains not a frame of extraneous footage, is more than a must-see movie: It's a must-see-more-than-once event.
    All this critic's reviews
  2. New York Daily News
    Reviewed by: Jami Bernard
    100
    Gloriously inventive, delightfully nutty comic treasure is unlike anything you've ever seen. It's lunatic.
  3. Chicago Sun-Times
    Reviewed by: Roger Ebert
    100
    Either Being John Malkovich gets nominated for best picture, or the members of the Academy need portals into their brains.

See all 36 Critic Reviews

User Reviews

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Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 34 out of 41
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 41
  3. Negative: 6 out of 41
  1. Halfwelshman
    10
    Being John Malkovich really is a film like no other. Director Spike Jonze and writer Charlie Kaufman's vision for the film is so complete, so unique and off-the-wall, it makes for an utterly spellbinding viewing experience. The performances are all superb, and many a far cry from the respective cast member's usual roles.John Cusack makes a very engaging, if highly unlikeable protagonist as Craig Schwatz, an ambitious but morally bereft puppeteer, who finds a mysterious portal into the head of John Malkovich. Malkovich, quite amusingly, gives one of the best performances of his career, playing a parody of himself, who is unwittingly used by a whole host of people for entertainment, entrepreneurial ventures and for a far more sinister purpose. Cameron Diaz, Catherine Keener and Orson Bean are all excellent too as Craig's unfulfilled, animal-loving wife, his sexually deviant co-worker and his ancient and looney boss respectively. Being John Malkovich delivers on all fronts, from the cast playing a weird and wonderful array of characters to Spike Jonze's tight and controlled direction, Lance Acord's cinematography perfectly capturing the simple, yet effective visuals, Carter Burwell's fantastic score and especially Charlie Kaufman's slick, sharp and side-splittingly funny script. It's surreal, dark, well-written and simply hilarious. It's also superbly odd, bordering on lunacy, but in a good way. There's nothing else like it, and there likely never will be. By the end of Being John Malkovich, you've certainly been on a journey - you're not certain where you've been, or what it all means, but by God you had a good time.… Expand
    • 1 of 1 users said yes
  2. AmriT240892
    10
    Best movie of all time . One of the better films of the past few years.A strikingly original and often brilliant movie that seems to run out of steam in the last 15 minutes, but then again, maybe its supposed to.… Expand
    • 0 of 0 users said yes
  3. ChrisB.
    0
    An appaling waste of time and talent. Shallow, unlikeable characters; unpleasant, jumbled cinematography, a shoddy script and no redeeming characteristics whatsoever.… Expand
    • 0 of 0 users said yes

See all 41 User Reviews

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