SummaryAn out-of-work puppeteer 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.
SummaryAn out-of-work puppeteer 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.
One of the most original and imaginative movies of the 1990's and arguably the best movie of 1999.
Jonze & Kaufman are a match made in heaven in this whimsical and smart comedy.
Must see.
Being John Malkovich is deffinantly one of if not the strangest thing ever put to film. There is no way this film should work if you wrote this out on paper and showed it to someone this would happen. They would laugh and ask "Is that really a thing?" in which you would have to answer with "yes". Being John Malkovich has a flare to it the handheld style adds a sort of grounded reality for something so crazy. Which it deffinantly needed, the acting is great all around you believe all the characters and there actions. While they might not be likable they still are believable and I mean it. The soundtrack is amazing it adds so much to this film which an amazing soundtrack is supposed to do. A quick little bit Charlie Kaufman is insane and Spike Jonez is either a god or a wizard to be able to make this one of the best films I've ever seen.
So jaw-droppingly out there, so bracingly bizarre, and, much of the time, so fall-over-funny that even its flaws don't matter. Easily the oddest movie of the year, it is also one of the best.
The story keeps reinventing itself (some of the later plot twists are among the funniest), but a little goes a long way at 112 minutes - maybe 25 minutes more than this sporadically pointed conceit really needs.
Spike Jonze and Charlie Kaufman never seem to shy away from going weird but amazing.
The story is about a skillful puppeteer finds the perfect puppet when he discovers a portal in his new office on a "half" floor. It leads him literally into the brain of John Malkovich. He and his discoverer try make a living off of others interests while his wife becomes jealous.
Charlie Kaufman and Spike Jonze are the two people that can take a weird and strange story and make it amazingly well made and as a viewer you some how correct to it with no reason to it. I don't think I ever came across a bad movie from these genius of directing and writing and Being John Malkovich is another great film from them, they never disappoint me.
The one thing that I loved about this movie is how self aware it is. It knows it's weird with some of the scenes that will kind of question yourself for watching it but not in a horrible way more like "I'm I weirdo for understanding this and also enjoying it?", something like. The film has a sense of humor to itself and knows it' ridiculous but it goes along with it and man is it funny.
The director from Spike Jonze once again dose an amazing job directing this movie. He mix the humor, weird scenes and the fantasy element to it which perfectly came together so well and smoothly. Spike Jonze is fantastic director and in this he really dose shine with his talent of presenting story telling.
The writing in this movie is probably hands down the best writing I've seen in a while. The way they pulled off this crazy story line and make it comedy gold is truly genius and worth bringing up because it's not a easy thing to do as it seems impossible for some writers out there and Kaufman makes it look easy.
The acting from everyone was excellent. John Cusack, Catherine Keener and Cameron Diaz all three did brilliant in their roles. John Malkovich pretty much playing himself in this movie did a funny performance as himself has he get's taken over by pretty much everyone. I would pay good money to see John Malkovich been given the script for the first time to this movie while he knows nothing about it yet and him reading it and seeing his face has it probably went into WTF mode, but he said yes anywhere because the movie is about him and he give a outstanding performance.
For problems I don't really have any to be honest. I couldn't really find anything that I thought wasn't right. Well overall Being John Malkovich is smart, weirdly amazing movie with a fantastic script and outstanding directing.
Very weird and odd movie. The movie itself was ok. What I didn't like is how they were using John Malkovich for their sexual pleasure. That's just stupid, who would do that. At least it gets better and john Cusack at least controlled his body as himself. So that made it a little better.
Ce film est comme une vieille bagnole, il peine à démarrer puis il a du mal à s'arrêter. Il fait beaucoup de bruit pour pas grand'chose même si ce "pas grand'chose" est parfois, il faut bien le dire, un authentique génie de l'absurde, drôle et inventif. En vérité, il repose énormément sur la performance du fantastique acteur qu'est John Malkovich, un authentique génie du jeu et contrairement au film, il ne fait jamais défaut.
Car "Dans la peau de John Malkovich" a quelques difficultés à exploiter son concept de départ brillant et à le faire fructifier sur la durée. Plus le film avance, plus il se délite en absurdités au fil des circonvolutions d'un scénario casse-gueule auquel on adhère de moins en moins.
Les acteurs assument tous leurs rôles de caricature avec brio, sans doute transportés par la présence mirifique de Maître Malkovich, y compris la bécasse Cameron Diaz étonnamment supportable et toute jeunette ici.
Bref, passé l'émerveillement de ce délire assurément très créatif, le film n'a l'effet que d'un **** mouillé par faute d'un manque de maîtrise de son développement.
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!
Now, if you want to see a movie that takes horrific cruelty and wraps it up in quirky comedy wrapping paper from Wal-Mart, grab a copy of Being John Malkovich. But don't watch it. Instead, burn it. Burn them all. Because Malkovich takes the torture-wrapped-in-comedy genre to such a far degree that just thinking about it makes me sick. I no longer like seeing John Malkovich, Cameron Diaz, Catherine Keener, or John Cusack on screen in anything. I'm not exaggerating here, just seeing one of them makes me shudder. This movie is such a perversion of film and the human mind that I want my memory erased after watching it.
I want to forget how this movie made me feel. I'm not holding back. Here's everything I haven't successfully repressed:
John Cusack is a creepy and depressed guy who lives with his creepy and depressed wife. Their entire existence and atmosphere in the film is miserable. Everything about it is uneasy. Cusack is a puppeteer, and in the film's opening, he makes two puppets bang while a young girl is watching him perform on the street. The film's best part occurs when the girl's father punches him in the face and destroys his display. Oscar for Best Supporting Actor goes to **** Guy. I f**king mean it. Give that guy a career.
So Cusack joins this creepy company, and there's a door leading into John Malkovich's brain, where you can see through his eyes for 15 minutes. After 15 minutes, you magically appear on the turnpike just outside of New York, conveniently a few miles away. Why? Who cares!? The film is quirky! It doesn't need logic, or thematic elements, or quality in general.
Cusack and his creepy and depressing coworker sell 15 minute excursions into Malkovich's head for a while, until they realize that they can control him if they focus hard enough. So they start doing that, and they replace Malkovich's conscience (John Malkovich plays John Malkovich, a flat character who is... creepy and depressed. Great.), and in the end, Malkovich must consciously sit by as this dirty creep controls his mind and perverts his body, destroying his soul. No one is happy. Nothing good happens. Nothing intelligent happens. Malkovich just gets **** on, Cusack locks his wife in a cage. It's creepy and depressing. It's disgustingly cruel, and it insults us by pretending it's all a joke.
"Come on guys, we'll laugh about this someday." said Spike Jonze as devil's horns emerged from his forehead. Hey, you hear that? Sounds like the cries of the damned to me.
If Jonze's 2013 romance film Her hadn't been such a masterpiece, I'd probably hate him. He redeemed himself for this one, so I can let him off with a warning. Every director ever: making films like these is like putting the Boogie Nights disc in What About Bob's box. Stop selling these as comedies. Please, god, stop. This really must be the most unbearable film I've ever watched. Jesus, take the wheel. My cinema hurts.