Wow! A mind-blowing cinematic debut from Jonze and Kaufman. A surreal, hilarious, thought provoking, genre-busting classic.

Rating: Null/10 (28 December 2002)

'Being John Malkovich' is simply one of the most stunningly original and inventive movies ever made. To think it is the movie debut of a video clip director (Spike Jonze) and an unknown TV sit-com writer (Charlie Kaufman) makes it an even more impressive achievement! If this brilliant movie is any indication of their talents the two are headed straight for the top of the heap. What I particularly admire about this movie is that in manages to pile strange situation on top of strange situation without being gimmicky, and the way it manages to discuss weighty topics like creativity and identity without losing sight of the fact that it is a comedy, and an extremely funny one at that. The three leads John Cusack ('High Fidelity'), Catherine Keener ('Johnny Suede') and Cameron Diaz ('There's Something About Mary') are all wonderful, especially the unexpected casting of the latter two actresses, the first of many, many surprises in this hugely enjoyable and mind-blowing trip. And what can you say about John Malkovich himself? The man is now a certifiable legend for even agreeing to participate in this movie, on top of that his performance is wonderful and multi-layered. The rest of the supporting cast led by veteran Orson Bean ('Innerspace') are all excellent, and there are several amusing cameos, especially a scene stealing turn from Charlie Sheen which more than makes up for his many hammy performances over the years. I cannot praise this movie highly enough! It is a surreal, hilarious, thought provoking, genre-busting classic, and one of the very best movies made in the last twenty years. Yes, it's simply THAT good.