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

An appaling waste of time and talent. Shallow, unlikeable characters; unpleasant, jumbled cinematography, a shoddy script and no redeeming characteristics whatsoever.

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.

One of the better films of the past few years.

An amazing movie. funny and disturbing.

An entirely unique concept brought together by solid performance (particularly Diaz, Cusak, and Malkovich). A rare film treat that provides both laughs and contemplation. It doesn't have the traditional "happy ending" many viewers demand, but neither did "Hamlet" and I hear that got decent reviews.

This is a modern day classic. You have to be a certain type of person to enjoy the humor, and if you are you do so immensely. If this kind of comedy had been applied to a slightly more controlled plot or concept, it would've belly flopped. Instead, it takes an idea that's just so far out there and laughable, combines it with characters that are all completely unaware of their own short-comings and moronity, and pretends that it's a serious film. With all the irony flying around in this movie, it HAS to pretend to take itself seriously- as seriously as the characters take themselves. I think where this movie lost that final point for me was in the tone. Yes, it needed to be dark to pull it off, and yes, the mundane nature of the characters' lives had to be reflected somehow in the film itself, but after a comedy so ludicrous and dark one has to be able to feel giddy, not slightly morbid. Too much Donnie Darko, not enough Everything is Illuminated.… Expand

Funny and intelligent movie. One of the best I've seen in years.

A disingenuous story with a strange and bizzare idea. This was beautifully written with acting to kill. A masterpiece of a film.

Extremely original and quirky, entirely funny; Malkovich is terrific as is Cameron Diaz.

Beautiful, brilliant and absolutely wonderful!

Possibly overlong, but that's nitpicking. A remarkable achievement, great performances from Diaz, Cusack, Keener and John Horatio Malkovich himself of course. It has to be seen.

Wake up villagers...the emperor is not wearing any clothes! I rate it a 3 out of loyalty to three stars, Malkovich, Cusak, and Diaz, whose movies rarely let us down.

Rus B., if you're not even going to explain why you gave it a 3 when everybody else gave it a 10, I'll ask u 1 thing: Why did you even bother rating. But since logic probably won't get to you: You're the one not using pants here, mister!

I elect to not analyze. I never want to see this film ever ever again. It would spoil the memory of watching it the first time.

Probably the most boring film I've ever seen!

I hated this movie. It was twisted, perverted, scatterbrained and overall disturbing. This was the worst movie that I can remember.

I thought Adaptation and Confessions of a Dangerous Mind both have it beat by a wide margin. Maybe I should see it again.

What an incredible movie! Works both as a hilarious comedy and as a deep reflection on identity and the many ways that it shifts based on our own wants and needs. Simply brilliant.

Amazing, amazing film. Great acting, great direction, and an excellent screenplay. I don't understand people like Chris B. who give zeroes to movies that get mainly 9s and 10s. Even if you really dislike a movie, it still deserves points for effort. A genuine "0" movie would have to have absolutely no redeeming qualities whatsoever.

This was one of the silliest things i have ever watched! It doesn't make sense at all, i don't really know what to write! I'm dumbfounded by how silly this movie is

An amazing mind-trip.

It was beautiful.

Sheer perfection. An amazing and original idea brought masterfully to the screen. Nothing else like it.

The most profoundly beautiful and thought provoking masterpiece ever to grace the modern screen.

Awfully clever movie and lots of fun. However, I suspect it only touches upon many potentially satirical issues without deeply investigating any of them. Still, a field day for talents as diverse as Cusack, Diaz, and of course Malkovich--what finer homage can any actor ask for?

A forced attempt at conceptualized art addressing the frailty of the link between reason and consciousness (a theme rehashed by the same writer in "Eternal Sunshine."). Yawn. It's a decent movie, but did not "blow my mind," as many claimed it would, nor did it encourage me to consider the metaphysical issues at the crux of the story; instead, the movie seemed content to ride on the gimmickyness of that concept, and irritate me with its thoroughly annoying characters.… Expand

Not to take away from the creative flair of messrs. Jonze & Kauffman but it's hard to love a movie where the only sympathetic characters get get shafted while the two chief villains live happily ever after. It left a bad taste in my mouth. What a letdown.

Being John Malkovich is a magnificent film, scuplted by master writer Charlie Kaufman and and then sharpened to a deadly blade by director Spike Jonze. The ideas that this film is packed with are amazing, when was the last time you recall being even more overwhelmed with ideas in the third act than you were with the first? Being John Malkovich is almost perfect, but Jonze and Kaufman';s second film, Adaptation, remains superior.… Expand

What an exciting and original movie!!! It was hilarious throughout and the surprises don't stop until the very end. Each character changes and turns with every scene. Fantastic movie - a must see.

Looks like Darryl J. needs to stick to films like Bambi and How To Lose a Guy in Ten Days. Definetely not for the casual filmgoer, but for someone who wants to be challenged and actually have a rewarding experience at a film. Best movie of 1999.

Amen Matt A. Being John Malcovich is an unusual film to the world of cinema. It seems more original than any of Burton's movies. Full of twisted love triangles, and drama, along with wierdness and puppets.

This is such an amazing and brilliant film, I usually do not like John cusack films, but this is not like a really regular e Cusack film.

Absolutely awful in every way, shape and form. No likable characters, a scatterbrained story, and just mean-spirited. Avoid at all costs. Please, for your own sake, avoid this movie!

I am a little confused about this movie. And frankly speaking before I read other comments, I can not understand this movie. But to some extent, I think it is a good movie but not perfect one.

I'm not going to lie, I did not like this movie the first time I saw it. But after I saw Adaptation and Eternal Sunshine, I watched B.J.M. again and I realized what I missed the first time, the whole thing. The originality is beyond impressive. I also never thought Cameron Diaz could look so ugly. Yes, the movie is a huge metaphor, so people who consider movies like Norbit or Transformers to be the best movies will not appreciate nor understand this. There is nothing like this… Expand

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.

Being John Malkovich is hillarious and rare, contains surrelism, absurdity, Kaufman-style. But I think Eternal Sunshine of Spotless Mind still top of it. No head-f**kery this time

Being John Malkovich is the work of a clearly twisted individual (Director Spike Jonze) but its hard to deny that Jonze is unbelievably talented as he balances multiple plot threads and complex characters while managing to infuse the film with a hilarious satirical element. The film follows a professional puppeteer (John Cusack) as he is forced to take a position as a file clerk in an oddly shaped office building at his animal loving wife’s (The unexpectedly impressive Cameron Diaz) insistence. While there he meets the woman of his dreams (Katherine Keener) a conniving, manipulative borderline sociopathic executive. At the same time he finds a door in his office that acts as a portal into John Malkovich’s mind. The plot is rich and complex and the writing (by Adaptation’s Charlie Kaufman) allows us to feel sympathy and compassion for these thoroughly unlikable characters. You understand their motivations and their actions even if you would never ever do them yourself. The satirical nature of the story and the writing helps in that their actions are so undeniably funny that you can’t help but enjoy what they are doing even if they are doing things like locking their friends in cages. The cast give some rich performances with Diaz and Cusack being the best of the bunch in that they bring these tragic characters to life in a way no other actor could. Malkovich is another stand out in that he portrays two different characters without dipping into the other. His helplessness is comical thanks to both his portrayal and the writing. It’s a stunning film that only gets better with age although my one problem with it is that it never gets better than its opening scene which is a perfect indicator of the film ahead in that it is both tragic and beautiful in equal measures, oh and the scenes done almost entirely with puppets. Enjoy.… Expand