A lesson in Plato hidden in a spectacular movie.

Rating: 9/10 (21 May 2001)

This movie is a spectacular portrayal of Charlie Kaufman's imaginative subject about what it would be like to be in someone else's head, and eventually someone else's body. Ultimately the movie asks us who we are and tries to urge us to enjoy who we are, regardless of our outer appearance. Whether it be gender or simple shame of one's appearance, the movie gives us examples of people who aren't happy with their physical bodes (ironically, the two people are married) and shows us that no matter who we try to be, ultimately we must be ourselves, and that this truth is inescapable. In a way, the movie shows us that self-reliance is paramount. The film shows an especially good contrast between a man who allows his passions to control his actions and another who uses reason to decide the fate of his life and in actuality the length of his life. This theme is almost Platonic, because the movie shows us which course of action is more moral; and luckily, although perhaps not realistically, in this movie morality wins out.