Brillant conceptual film

Rating: 8/10 (20 August 2019)

A conceptual and clever movie which I thoroughly enjoyed. The plot is about this mundane couple - the wife lotte has pet chimps and lizards and Craig "works" as a failed puppeteer because he can be other characters. Then he found a job in a filing company, gets attracted to Maxine and discovered a secret door that he can go down and immediately see the world through an acclaimed actor John Malkovich for 15 minutes before being spit out onto the side of the road, and they start to profit of this discovery with tons of people paying to experience being JM. 1. The idea that it is so much more comfortable and confident being someone else, maybe because it is for a mere 15minute as a passive viewer, the excitement of living another persons life, the experience without the responsibility, a small piece of escapism. Somehow, I can relate to that in the identity of an aspie, the more you play it, the more it becomes a part of your existence and comfort. I find this an interesting concept that if we can adopt different personas to our advantages. Of course in the film, only craig and lotte manipulated JM, and im assuming the rest of the queue were just passive observers in his body.
2. There was a scene where John Malkovich himself went into the tunnel and became John Malkovich and everywhere he looked were different versions of JM doing different things and he was frightened and ran. To me, this is perhaps the fear of facing up to our own different personas and not knowing what to do, and running from ourselves. Its a poignant scene to reveal the discomfort in being ourselves vs the thrill of being another character.
3. Maxine was always and ultimately only attracted to JM's body when lotte is in it. The idea that it will always be the core and soul of the person one is attracted to. Craig invaded his body, fucked and married Maxine and had a successful puppeteer career using the fame of JM...he was afraid to leave JMs body because then who is he? In the end, he did. Maxine revealed to lotte that she was pregnant by her - sex while she was in JMs body and they raised a JM daughter together.
4. The group of old people continue to use the vessel of the malkovich line (in the daughter) to continue living and not die.....I take this to mean that everyone of us is a sum of other people in us.
5. I like that the title uses the actors real name John Malkovich as he is playing himself and it is a successful film vs his character Craig who is always trying to be someone else through his puppeting efforts or living JM's life and it was not a good ending.