Unique, Memorable Piece of Filmmaking.

Rating: 9/10 (24 November 2000)

I had wanted to see Being John Malkovich for a long time after seeing it was placed on the top 250, and that it had excellent A+ reviews.

John Cusack is Craig Schwartz, a straggly-haired, poverty-stricken puppeteer goaded by his animal-fixated wife (Cameron Diaz, almost unrecognisable under a gigantic brown wig) into getting a proper job, which he does, as a filing clerk on the seventh-and-a-half floor (a gag which really has to be seen) of a nondescript office building. It's here, while working for a dotty centenarian boss (Orson Bean) and lusting after colleague Maxine (Catherine Keener) that he stumbles upon the hidden portal that sucks unsuspecting parties straight into John Malkovich's brain, thus giving the person the opportunity to literally "be" John Malkovich for 15 minutes, before being spewed out beside the New Jersey turnpike. But what starts out as a money-spinning novelty quickly descends into insanity, as Diaz discovers the joys of the portal, Keener discovers the joys of Malkovich, and Malkovich slowly begins to twig that a bunch of complete strangers are messing with his head.
The acting is brilliant in Being John Malkovich, Cusack has rarely been better and Diaz hasn't done anything this amusing or creative in a long time. But it's Catherine Keener and John Malkovich who stand out the most here, Keener's performance is wickedly enjoyable, she deserved her Oscar nomination. And Malkovich, who really needed to get that Academy Award nomination over Michael Caine, is amazing, he pulls off the most superb performance of his career, playing himself. Spike Jonze is also a man I look forward to seeing more from, his direction skills are ironically fascinating. Charlie Kaufman's writing deserves an Oscar and a Golden Globe, because he has written the most original story I have ever seen in a film.
At the end of Being John Malkovich, you'll be sitting there with your jaw dropped open because this film is such a mindblowing, intelligent ride. You'll never, ever see another film like this, so, for your own good, don't miss out.
I rate Being John Malkovich 9 out of 10.