Completely innovative and entertaining!

Rating: 9/10 (29 July 2000)

"Being John Malkovich" is unlike any movie that I, and probably you as well, have ever seen. A crazy, comedic, fantasy that finds Craig Schwartz (John Cusack) fiddling with the mind of the well-respected actor John Malkovich. Craig finds a portal into Malkovich's mind in his office where you can see through his eyes for 15 minutes and then be dumped out onto the New Jersey Turnpike. He markets this new concept of "being someone else" with the help of his co-worker Maxine (Catherine Keener) who he falls madly in love with. At the same time Craig's wife Lotte (Cameron Diaz) discovers the profoundness of herself through the portal and also falls madly in love with Maxine. It's a crazy, messed up story, that will keep you hooked to the screen to see what wild events will take place next. Writer Charlie Kaufman has woven such a complex idea and concept into such an entertaining and imaginative story that director Spike Jonze brought to life. In his big screen directorial debut, Jonze takes us right into the mind of John Malkovich along with the other characters and brings out the strangeness and innovation of Kaufman's screenplay. The entire cast turns in wonderful performances, especially John Malkovich himself. I'm sure it wasn't to much of a stretch for him to play, well, him, but he does it with such subtlety that it makes all the fantasy seem like reality for the viewer (due in large part to Jonze's directing as well). It's a great movie and a must-see for anyone in the mood for a little bit of the bizarre!