Very good, but not exactly uplifting

Rating: 8/10 (8 November 1999)

Let me start off by saying "Being John Malkovich" IS a very good movie. It's one of the most interesting, unusual and thought-provoking films I've seen this year. I still can't believe Malkovich himself agreed to star in it, and I still have the sublimely ridiculous themes and surreal images I saw a week ago in my head. The acting is solid, the directing is good, the writing is sharp and the story is compelling.
So why wasn't I wholly satisfied by this movie? Why do I feel now, as I did when the credits were rolling, that something was missing, and that this work is overrated? Well, having some distance, I think I've figured it out. It has to do with sympathy for the characters. Basically, I didn't have any.
Each character is flawed to such a degree, through greed, selfishness, and insecurity, that he/she ultimately comes off as a two-dimensional puppet. I found it impossible to put myself in anyone's shoes, ironically, because none of them are comfortable in their own. The characters who succeed are the ones who are the most adept at using and abusing the other characters, and, of course, at abusing the body of John Malkovich. Catherine Keener's character makes a point in the film about how there are those who "take what they want, and then there's everybody else" (I'm paraphrasing). That point is explored in the film, but ultimately, the message (and I only mention this because the film does have philosophical aims) becomes "It's a dog-eat-dog world out there". There is no love, no moral anchor. And that's why, despite its very clear style and simple but intriguing plot, I couldn't totally get into it.
The characters go through changes which are wholly believable and uplifting. Rent it.