Being John Malkovich (1999)
Genre: Fantasy / Comedy
Duration: 113 minuten
Country:
United States
Directed by: Spike Jonze
Stars: John Cusack, Cameron Diaz and Catherine Keener
IMDb score:
7,7 (372.237)
Releasedate: 29 October 1999
Being John Malkovich plot
"Ever wanted to be someone else? Now you can."
A puppeteer accidentally finds a gate that leads to the head of the actor John Malkovich. People who go through that gate experience a few minutes of his life. They decide to exploit their discovery commercially.
Actors and actresses
Craig Schwartz
John Horatio Malkovich
Lotte Schwartz
Maxine Lund
Floris
Dr. Lester
Charlie
Don
First J.M. Inc. Customer
Larry the Agent
Reviews & comments
blurp194
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- 6015 messages
- 4496 votes
Possibly the most absurd script ever.
And also the weirdest role for Malkovich - and certainly that scene where he is in his own head - or how do you put that. You just have to get up there. And, if you had asked me twenty years ago what I thought of the film, I would have immediately used words like 'masterpiece' and 'genius'.
But on the other hand, the film is also a bit thin - without the Malkovich gimmick there isn't much left. In terms of cinematography, it's all a bit meager, there's hardly any soundtrack, and - maybe I'm alone in that - I wasn't that broken about the acting either. Diaz gets some bonus points for remaining so unrecognizable, but the rest? Keener really doesn't do it for me, Cusack just kinda bobs like his character, and Malkovich - well, what are you going to measure that against to determine if he did a good job. He convinces like Malkovich, but yes, that seems the least to me.
And perhaps the most important consideration, I think it is always part of a good film that you can see it several times. But with this one it is disappointing - when the surprise is over, there is mainly a long sitting left.
Translated from Dutch · View original
Shadowed
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- 12083 messages
- 7064 votes
Nice.
I put off this movie for quite some time because I never got the chance to see it. This wasn't a rushed movie, so I never went after it. However, then the film was recommended to me for a movie event and delaying or waiting was no longer an option. I have to say, this was a very fun movie.
This is obviously a unique opportunity for Malkovich to fool himself a bit. Since the film is literally about the person John Malkovich, at least, sort of, it's a nice opportunity for successful self-mockery and that's certainly in it. It's not really brilliantly funny anywhere, but I can always appreciate it when actors or actresses know some (self) humour.
The concept for this movie sounds silly, but it certainly works. The story has been thought out smarter than you might think beforehand. The combination between fantasy and comedy is actually perfect and couldn't be better. The genres themselves could have been developed a bit better, but together they go really well. The unfortunate thing is that the film lacks some detail in fantasy and really successful and sharp humor in comedy.
What the film does do well is develop the characters. Everyone genuinely plays a very successful role and that quickly makes the film watchable. Keener, Cusack and Malkovich are beaming. Diaz is also doing well, but unfortunately cannot immediately identify with the three aforementioned names. Still, there isn't a role that I really thought was bad, and that's certainly a big compliment.
Fantasy-wise, as I said before, I sometimes miss some detail and elaboration. When it comes to the really crazy stuff, I miss something. It looks a bit bare, which is a shame, because this could easily be a very good movie with a little more fantasy. Other than that, this is a fun, smooth and sometimes funny film that I got through without too many problems. Nice concept, nice execution, actually not much wrong with it.
Translated from Dutch · View original
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