Clever, Original, but Slight

Rating: 8/10 (12 February 2002)

"Being John Malkovich" is a film with a wonderfully creative, refreshingly original concept, but burdened with one-dimensional characters and a very flimsy plot. You know what though? It doesn't matter. The concept is so good that it's enough by itself.
The only really serious criticism I have of the film is that, on repeated viewings, the minor weaknesses reveal themselves more fully, but this seems like such a small, petty complaint to level at such a fresh, inventive film.
So, is it just a gimmick movie? Well, yeah, it really is. But the gimmick is executed with some real flair. What saves this from being just some minor art house curiosity is primarily the work of two people: John Malkovich (whose performance in this film has been criminally underappreciated) and Charlie Kaufman, who wrote the script.

What allows "Being John Malkovich" to succeed as it does is the continuity of the characters, even as they go about inhabiting various bodies. Thus, even though John Cusack disappears for a large stretch of the film, his character, Craig Schwartz, is in it from beginning to end. This is a very difficult feat, and the script deserves a lot of credit. But Malkovich, in particular, deserves the credit, for undertaking the performance of three very distinct characters in this film. Now, giving a single performer multiple roles is not a such a big deal. But in this film, Malkovich had to take over characters from other actors and continue them. When Schwartz finally takes over Malkovich, that's the last we see of Cusack for a considerable time. But Schwartz is still there. Same again when Dr. Lester (or, if you prefer, Captain Mertin) takes over. Continuity is kept with the previous actors and their respective performances. This is so crucial to make this film work, and the both scriptwriter and the actor deserve credit both for appreciating the importance, and actually making it work.

So, sit back and enjoy this truly inventive, clever, and original film. Just don't think about it too hard. Don't worry about the mechanics of Lester taking people with him. Don't worry about the utter arbitrariness of Craig's infatuation with Maxine. Don't worry about the even more arbitrary pairing of Lotte and Maxine. Don't worry about how Maxine could possibly know whether the child was Lotte's or Craig's. Don't worry about the odd coincidence of Emily (the new vessel) being the daughter of Malkovich (the old vessel), and don't worry about how Lester knew this, or knew anything else about the portal, or where the portal was before the Mertin Flemmer Building was built.
If you want to be a stick in the mud, these are legitimate questions. But it just spoils the fun. And in a film as fun as this, that's a truly terrible thing to do.