Clever and imaginative film

Rating: 8/10 (10 May 2000)

This is a clever and imaginative story with a lot of droll and peculiar situations that make for an entertaining film. John Cusack plays Craig Schwartz, a frustrated puppeteer who can't find work. He takes a job as a file clerk and discovers a portal that leads inside John Malkovich's head that allows him to see and experience what Malkovich is doing for 15 minutes until it spits him out on the New Jersey Turnpike. The remainder of the film uses this device to create absurd uses for the portal, from selling tickets to Malkovich to two women having sex using Malkovich's body.
Ultimately, the puppeteer discovers how to take over Malkovich and he proceeds to usurp Malkovich's life. In one particularly ingenious scene, Schwartz is manipulating Malkovich to be a puppeteer who has a marionette manipulating yet another smaller marionette. It's a little like Russian matroishka dolls where every time you open one, there is another smaller one inside. If you take it one step further, it was really Maxine who was the master puppeteer, manipulating Schwartz to manipulate Malkovich.
This film goes beyond humor of the absurd to humor of the bizarre. At times it gets a bit too far out to be funny (like when Malkovich goes inside Malkovich and sees Malkovich's everywhere). But the material is fresh and innovative and most of the skits work well, silly as they sometimes are.
Spike Jonze is a strange guy with a strange sense of humor which is perfect for this film. If you get the DVD, one of the bonus features is an interview with Jonze. If you see this interview, you will get a fuller understanding of just how strange he can be. He does some very interesting things with the camera, lighting and setup that give the film a very distinctive look. This was Jonze first feature film. Clearly his work in music videos, where directors are a lot freer to push the creative envelope, helped in the making of this film. I thought he could have done a better job with the Malkovich perspective (it looked like you were looking backwards through a pair of binoculars), but most of the camera work was quite good. I particularly liked the way he split the sound tracks to have Malkovich's voice come out of the back speakers while in his perspective.
The acting in this film was terrific. John Malkovich, who excels in both dramatic and comedic roles did a fabulous job of playing himself, poking fun at himself at every turn. Poor John Cusack. He is such a tall guy and they made him play half his part on a set with 4 ½ foot ceilings. He was very funny as the tortured puppeteer. Catherine Keener was a scream as the bitchy and evil Maxine.
Overall, this film is a rollicking good time. I rated it 8/10. It is funny throughout but sometimes goes a little too far off the deep end. If you like absurd humor, you will love this film.