Ever Wish You Could Be Someone Else? Now You Can!

Rating: 8/10 (9 January 2011)

There are some films whose plots are so obvious from the very beginning that it is a wonder why they are even made. You know the movies, the ones that begin "Once Upon a Time" and end with "Happily Ever After." And, to a certain extent, there is a chain of events that most films follow whether they mean to or not. Being John Malkovich is not such a film. If the film poster—which shows an auditorium filled with the actor John Malkovich head in front of various bodies—makes you feel strange or makes you say, "That looks too weird for me", then this may not be what you are looking for. If you are someone, however, who wants to see something very abnormal, very original, and very brilliant, then welcome! Feel free to jump inside of the head of John Malkovich.
This is a crazy film, and the worst thing to do to a crazy film is to reveal too much of the plot. It starts off with a struggling puppeteer named Craig Schwartz who finds an advertisement in the newspaper for "a man with very fast fingers." As he is used to working with his hands, this is the perfect job opportunity for him. On the first day of work, he finds that his office building is located on the 7 ½ floor (which can only be opened when the elevator is stopped between the 7th and 8th floor and a metal wrench is inserted into the doors of the elevator.) Shortly after working there, he discovers that there is a portal in the office that leads to the head of actor John Malkovich. Once inside the portal, you can experience life through John Malkovich for fifteen minutes. This was all I knew before stepping into the world of Being John Malkovich and I believe that it is all one should know. What follows is an insane film filled with great acting, great directing, and genius writing. The characters are strange, yet they (eventually) become very real and their uniqueness soon becomes relatable. This did not feel like a film that was strange just for the sake of being strange. Everything that happens seems to fit perfectly. As with any unique idea, there is always the risk of being too ridiculous or having the results be a disaster. Never once does this film venture off into that territory. It could have been a giant mess, but instead it manages to be beautiful. The motive that the characters have is one of the most universal wants there is: to be able, if only for a few minutes, to be someone else, to live life through the eyes of someone else. This is a seemingly simple task. It is not. One of the great things that this film highlights is the "domino effect" that all of us are a part of. We cannot live our lives without interrupting the life of someone else. Every action we commit affects someone, which in turn affects someone else, which in turn affects someone else. It is a continuous circle that never stops, no matter our age, gender, or position in life. And just when we tell ourselves, "It can't get any stranger than this," it does.