* * * * for BJM.

Rating: 9/10 (2 November 1999)

What can be said about "Being John Malkovich" without destroying the wonderful surprises in store?
Spike Jonze has made numerous short films and videos before embarking upon this visual treat, and he is one of the few music video directors who actually brings a great deal of thought or resonance to his images. His offbeat sensibility is ideally suited for Charlie Kaufman's imaginative and wildly original screenplay. The premise alone, revealed in the title, captures the sense of having your 15 minutes of fame inside an actor who not everyone knows by name.
Yes, puppeteer John Cusack takes a job working as a file clerk on the 7 ½ floor, and lo and behold, he discovers a portal into the mind of JM himself. After 15 minutes, he is unceremoniously dumped on the side of the New Jersey turnpike. The film takes its time before providing us with this wonderful scene, thoroughly developing the characters of frustrated artiste Cusack, his frustrated and frumpy wife played by an unrecognizable Cameron Diaz and Cusack's sassy, sexy, vixen-y co-worker Catherine Keener, all in top form (and some under the most brilliant hair design since the Farrelly Brothers virtuoso work in "Kingpin".)
And then we begin our adventure seeing the world through the eyes of JM, going in directions one wouldn't expect, and even if it does, it goes beyond those initial variables into some truly stunning and unexpected variations in terms of character development, plot, space and time.
Well filmed (and surprisingly subtle, not going for large scale effects) with impeccable taste, style and a flair for the theatrical without becoming overpronounced or gauche, Being John Malkovich ranks as one of my biggest delights this screengoing year.
John Malkovich, of course, steals the show. It is, after all, his head.