John Malkovich is normal - the rest of this world is weird

Rating: 10/10 (21 November 2004)

Ah, poor John Malkovich. If you thought Truman Burbank had it rough in 'the Truman Show' with the entire world watching his every televised move, then your heart really has to go out to this guy. At the very least, Truman was always able to keep his inner mind sacred and untouched, but poor Malkovich doesn't even have that ability. He's stuck with all these depraved eccentrics, invading his privacy and making a huge pile of dollars at his expense, and he's completely powerless to stop them. That Malkovich is a real-life actor (he even played alongside Cusack before in 'Con Air'), living in this warped, fictional world makes it all the more haunting. It's hard not to come away from this one feeling just a little unnerved  the concept it revolves around is, after all, undeniably grotesque, riddled with plot points which are just plain absurd, and which the characters themselves (except for Malkovich) accept all too readily (for example, why would you be spat out by the side of the New Jersey turnpike of all places?), and the final outcome of their escapade is outrageously creepy and harrowing to say the least - but paradoxically the film is also fun, hilarious and really has its charm.
And that, I suppose, is the beauty of BJM - no logic, no ethics, no philosophy (Craig does briefly deliberate on the philosophical implications of his discovery, but is persuaded by Maxine to brush them aside pretty quickly in favour of cashing in on it); just loads of twisted surrealism and great laughs, and a movie so delightfully INSANE that it boggles the mind. There could be a little message somewhere in there about the worldliness of modern society and our materialistic drive to make money out of whatever we can, our human fascination with celebrities and beliefs that their lives are more fulfilling than our own, and, in the case of the oddball old Dr. Lester, refusal to face up to our own mortality, but even there everything is skewered as further dark comedy. The 'morals' of the story are almost a joke, but darn good ones at that, and for best results you really have to detach your mind beforehand, sit back and just enjoy this for being the lavish and crazy piece of farce it invariably is. It's daring, imaginative and wonderfully unconventional, and comes complete with some of the most memorable characterisations of the late 90s (the deep eccentricity of some the characters may cause them to seem a little distant at first, but they do grow on you, and I know that anyone can identify with the dejected puppeteer Craig Schwartz and his struggle for recognition on some level). Granted, a film about a group of people who discover a portal leading into an actor's brain was hardly going to be everyone's cup of Kenco, and I don't anticipate that everyone who sees it will share my enthusiasm, but for those of us who like our movies to be just that bit different, this is a psychotic little masterpiece to be savoured.
After all, it's impossible to deny the appeal of a movie where most of the human characters are acting essentially like instinct-driven animals, concerned primarily with self-survival and/or attracting a mate, contrasting with a subplot which concerns a young chimpanzee gradually learning to come to terms with his repressed childhood trauma. Throw in some of the most brilliantly-timed cameo appearances from Sean Penn and Brad Pitt ever captured on film and you know you have a winner on your hands. This has 'future cult classic' written all over it.
Ah, poor John Malkovich. AH, poor Craig! ;)
Grade: A+