X
- 1999
- R
- 1 h 53 m
- 1999
- R
- 1 h 53 m
Summary An 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.
Directed By: Spike Jonze
Written By: Charlie Kaufman
- 1999
- R
- 1 h 53 m
- 1999
- R
- 1 h 53 m
Being John Malkovich
8.7
Where to Watch
Summary An 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.
Directed By: Spike Jonze
Written By: Charlie Kaufman
Where to Watch
Top Cast
Metascore
Universal Acclaim
Based on 36 Critic Reviews
90
100% Positive
36 Reviews
36 Reviews
0% Mixed
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
Metascore
Universal Acclaim
Based on 36 Critic Reviews
90
100% Positive
36 Reviews
36 Reviews
0% Mixed
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
Irresistable, nimble and very funny.
User Score
Universal Acclaim
Based on 546 User Ratings
8.7
92% Positive
500 Ratings
500 Ratings
5% Mixed
28 Ratings
28 Ratings
3% Negative
18 Ratings
18 Ratings
User Score
Universal Acclaim
Based on 546 User Ratings
8.7
92% Positive
500 Ratings
500 Ratings
5% Mixed
28 Ratings
28 Ratings
3% Negative
18 Ratings
18 Ratings
The most excitingly original movie of the year.
A clever and outrageous piece of whimsical fantasy that is unique, unpredictable and more than a little strange.
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 most offbeat studio comedy since "Rushmore."
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.
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.
Report
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.
Report
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.
Report
Awards
Golden Globes, USA
• 4 Nominations
Academy Awards, USA
• 3 Nominations
Online Film Critics Society Awards
• 4 Wins & 11 Nominations
