Being John Malkovich (1999)

John  Malkovich: This portal is mine and must be sealed up forever. For the love of God.
Craig Schwartz: With all respect, sir, I discovered that portal. It's my livelihood.
John Malkovich: It's my head, Schwartz! See you in court!
Craig Schwartz: And who's to say I won't be seeing what you're seeing......in court?

I guess I'll go on a Charlie Kaufman movies spree now. There's so much more to see every time you watch his movies. The movie starts with a puppet show named Craig's Dance of Despair and Disillusion where the character snaps and breaks the mirror on seeing and realizing the strings attached to his every move. Puppeteer Craig Schwartz (John Cusack) is a frustrated artist, who probably has the talent but not the right connections to make his dream a reality and help his career flourish. On his wife's insistence and comment, "Not everyone can be Derek Mantini", he finally takes up a low-skill job as a file clerk. This has been a constant theme in some of Charlie Kaufman's movie, as we can almost hear him through Craig's words, "You're lucky to be a monkey. Because consciousness is a terrible curse. I think, I feel, I suffer. And all I ask in return is the opportunity to do my work. But they won't allow it. Because I raise issues." Craig's office is situated on the 7 1/2 floor where there's a story going around on why the roofs are so low.

One day, while looking around in his office, he finds a secret passage that's like a portal to the mind of the actor, John  Malkovich. While he mentions his experience to a lady from the same floor, Maxine (Catherine Keener), it doesn't really impress her. He also mentions this in front of his wife, Lotte (Cameron Diaz), who seems more than fascinated and wants to experience it. Maxine, being the bitch that she is, changes her mind later and wants to make it work for her after knowing that John Malkovich is a popular actor who starred in that "jewel thief movie". What follows is a gradual taking over of the man, Malkovich, by Craig and Maxine as they try to make a fortune out of it. Maxine realizes that puppeteering is not just about playing with dolls, but "it's playing with people".

The movie shows us so many themes about unfulfilled dreams, self-obsession, identity and mind-manipulation. It also touches briefly on the point whether the wronged will commit wrong till life goes full circle to haunt them. As in one of the scenes where Lotte is chasing Maxine and as they enter Malkovich's sub-conscious, we see Malkovich's life playing out in reverse chronology where he seems at first like a jerk and then we go on to see his childhood where he was bullied. Overall, a brilliant movie where first-time director Spike Jonze would take us through a bizarre and surrealistic journey that has become a trademark of all Kaufman's writings. The acting is also amazing with special mention for Cameron Diaz where she actually acts and is in a very un-glamorous role! Though among all the three, it's Catherine Keener's Maxine who takes the prize.

Rating: 7.5/10