The first of its kind

Rating: 10/10 (10 March 2000)

This film is original, captivating, fascinating, and when I went to see it, it completely held me, from start to finish. The material is very well-organized (a credit to Kaufmann, the screenwriter), and it is an aesthetic delight. The ultimate strengths are the performances, themselves.
Cusack is the definitive straight man (I hope history is kind to him, and that he is rewarded for his efforts, in the future, for his work in what I feel are some of the best films ever made). Catherine Keener is a dynamic presence, with intelligence and wit to match, and I found a new respect for Cameron Diaz, who has really established herself, this year (in this role, among others), as not just a pretty face, but an intelligent, diverse actress that deserves to be taken seriously. It is a shame that she didn't fall among the ranks of Academy nominee for her role in this film, but, as I've said, before, there are only so many spaces to fill.
Malkovich, himself, was the most impressive; unfortunately, we don't think about it, until later. Even if he is portraying (a version of) himself, this is bar-none his best role, to date. He successfully becomes a vehicle, not only for his own caricature, but for that of the other characters in the film. He is a genuinely gifted (and brave) man.
The only minor complaint about this film (and it is minor) is that a few of the characters seem to readily accept the oddities or ramblings they are presented with, or already know details about something without any evidence (on the audience's part) of having received them, in advance. An example of this is when Craig (Cusack) first tells Maxine (Keener) about the porthole, and she sarcastically dismisses what is said as ramblings, at least at first, but a few minutes later, she instigates the notion of capitalizing on it, at a point where we, as onlookers, still believe that she thinks (or should think) that the door in question is a figment of Craig's imagination. I didn't quite buy that.
Nevertheless, it is what it is, and that is magnificent. In a way, it is the '2001: A Space Odyssey' of 1999, in that it is the first of its kind (I imagine that a whole slough of rip-offs and descendants will come about in the years, ahead), and that it has the same level of reception by the Academy of Motion Pictures (i.e. a nod for Best Directing, but not Best Picture). Jonze, himself, deserves credit for successfully pulling this off; despite this being his first film, he is a artist of dynamic proportions, as proven by his portfolio of music videos. He is a legend in the making, and 'Malkovich' is the foundation.