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

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004)

Joel: This is the day we met. You're down by the surf and I could just make you out in the distance. I remember being drawn to you even then. You were in that red sweatshirt that I'd come to know so well and hate eventually. At the time I thought, 'How cool..."
Clementine: Hi there....I saw you sitting over here by yourself. And I thought, thank God, someone normal who doesn't know how to interact with these things either.
Joel: Yeah...I don't ever know what to say.
.........
Clementine: This is it, Joel. It's gonna be gone soon. What do we do?
Joel: Enjoy....


Give me any Charlie Kaufman / Michel Gondry movie and I can watch it any number of times. Every quote in their movies has a deeper meaning and something that one can relate to. Just like Joel wonders in the initial half as to why he falls in love with every woman who shows him the slightest of attention. And thus starts the story with his random thoughts that would span over a couple of years and run in circles again.

Joel Barish (Jim Carrey) gets to know that his girlfriend Clementine (Kate Winslet) has had him erased from her mind by a procedure that is made possible at Lacuna by Dr. Mierzwiak (Tom Wilkinson). Feeling humiliated, he decides to do the same and asks the doctor if there is any risk of brain damage. As Dr. Mierzwiak mentions, "Technically, this is brain damage. But it's on a par with a night of heavy drinking", Joel finds that comforting. As Dr. Mierzwiak's assistants, Stan (Mark Ruffalo) and Patrick (Elijah Wood), set out on the process of erasing Clementine from his mind, he finds himself in a quandary and wants to hold on to some of the good memories he has of her.

He tries to hide in different corners of his brain where he can escape the process in an effort to not let Clementine go. He remembers a memory where Clementine mentions, "Meet me in Montauk", which is the place where he would have headed on an impulse at the start of the movie. As we go back to the beginning where the movie had started, they both realize they had a past and have to decide whether it's really worth working it out again.

This is one of the few movies of Jim Carrey where he has shown his audience that he is capable of more meaningful roles. And Kate Winslet as the wild and impulsive Clementine is, of course, a treat to watch. She is one of the most versatile actresses with a variety of roles in movies such as Finding Neverland, The Reader, Jude or even Iris. Mark Ruffalo as Stan also does a great job and I feel he is one of those underrated actors who never gets his due. Overall, some brilliant acting by most of the cast, but Kate Winslet definitely stands out. Can't believe it took her six nominations to finally win the Oscar!

Rating: 8/10

Beautiful Boy (2010)

Bill: Hi...This is Dad. I know you are not gonna get this, but I wish you could have told me what's wrong...that's what I'm here for....Well, I just wanted to hear your voice...that's all

Bill (Michael Sheen) and Kate (Maria Bello) are not doing too well in their marriage, until the unthinkable happens. As they are trying to plan a vacation to make things work, they get the news of their 18-year-old son, Sammy (Kyle Gallner), being the perpetrator of a mass shooting at school. Being hounded by the media and the superficial sympathy from friends and relatives, they keep struggling to find an answer behind their son's monstrous act. The usual questions. Was he depressed? Was he taking drugs? Did we do something? Did we not do something? How could he do it?

As they avoid going out, we don't see any real duel with the world outside. When they decide they couldn't stay in that house any longer, other people find a way in to take photographs or look at Sammy's belongings. As Bill visits the place one day, he sees a kid talking on the phone saying, "The dude even had a medal for perfect attendance". Even as he doesn't mean to, Bill gets into a confrontation with the kid. They realize they have to live with the stereotyping of campus killers - shy, quiet, lacking friends, no past misdeeds, etc.

Cooper (Austin Nichols) comes across as a friend of Kate who gets his to-be-released books first revised by Kate. When Kate finds out the real purpose of Cooper's visits, she asks him to leave. And in that scene, Cooper says, "I was just trying to see who Sammy was....I'm just trying to show them he was human too, no different from anyone else. Everyone is capable of such rage....It's no one's fault what happened...It's not your fault, not your husband's...that's all I'm trying to say". Well, exactly what I'd like to say too about some of those kids. However, even someone's offer of help can seem like an intrusion. Just like Bill realizes on his first day in office after the tragedy.

As they keep struggling to come to terms with their environment, they finally see they have only themselves to fall back on.

A brilliant, sensitive subject for a movie that I'd highly recommend, specially with Sandy Hook incident being so fresh in our minds. Sammy wasn't evil. Neither was the Sandy Hook kid. Let's not be too quick to judge.

Rating - 7.5/10

Lost in Translation (2003)

Bob: Can you keep a secret? I'm trying to organize a prison break. I'm looking for, like, an accomplice. We have to first get out of this bar, then this hotel, then the city and then the country. Are you in or are you out?
Charlotte: I'm in. I'll go pack my stuff.
Bob: I hope you've had enough to drink. It's going to take courage.

Bob Harris (Bill Murray) is a fading actor who's in Tokyo to film a few commercials. Charlotte (Scarlett Johansson) is a Yale psychology graduate who has tagged along with her photographer husband. They both live in the same hotel and they are both bored with their lives. And not understanding the native language is one of those common things that brings them together.

Charlotte definitely has a talent for seeing through fake people, and to be more specific, seeing through her husband's fake friends. She is everything you could ask for in a woman, making it difficult to believe she is in her early twenties. The only time she opens up to one of her friends over the phone, she realizes nobody really cares about her troubles or her dull existence. Bob, on the other hand, is sarcastic, grumpy and yet mild-mannered during his interactions with people around him.  Both are obviously bored in their respective marriages and they strike a fast friendship as they go along. Probably it's the age difference that makes each of them hesitant to turn it into anything more than a friendship. They discuss everything about life, relationships and aspirations even though both are the quiet-types. Almost like they have known each other for long enough to complete each other's sentences. There's pure magic in their relationship, even though they decide not to be back again in order to treasure those moments.

There's not much happening in the movie and it's exactly that which makes the movie so likable. One could compare this pair to the one in In the Mood for Love or Before Sunset. This is Sofia Coppola's second movie and she has done an absolutely brilliant job. Bill Murray fits the role perfectly (just like the way in Broken Flowers) and Scarlett Johansson is, as usual, lovable.

Rating - 8/10

Michael Clayton (2007)

Michael Clayton: I'm not the guy you kill. I'm the guy you buy! Are you so fucking blind that you don't even see what I am? I sold Arthur for 80 grand. I'm your easiest problem and you're gonna kill me?....... You're so fucked. Here, let me get a picture while I'm at it.

Michael Clayton is a fixer with a powerful law firm who works behind the scenes to clean up his clients' mess. They call him a miracle worker, though he prefers to believe he is just a "janitor". He drives the company's Mercedes and doesn't even have $75k "just lying around" even after being with the firm for 17 years. It's a failed restaurant business and a divorce that's to blame.

The movie starts with Arthur Eden (Tom Wilkinson), the firm's star lawyer, deciding that he is no longer going to defend UC North in a lawsuit after finding evidence that could be damning to UC North. He snaps in a meeting and takes off all his clothes while threatening to blow the whistle. This can turn out really bad for both his and Michael's boss, Marty Bach (Sydney Pollack) and the law firm's business. Michael doesn't really believe that there might be a problem with UC North but the fact that Arthur might not be taking his medications. UC North's legal attorney, Karen Crowder (Tilda Swinton), lays out all the cards on the table and they would make it look just like Arthur is crazy and he has no case here.

Michael is not too sure whether he is Arthur's friend first or he needs the $80k more when Marty agrees to pay the money. Of course, the money comes with strings attached. We won't know whether he would have stayed loyal to his friend or his boss if certain things hadn't happened. But he seems more pissed off with the agri-firm making an attempt on his life.

Michael Clayton is the directorial debut for Tony Gilroy and he does a decent job at it. Of course, we all love George Clooney in those suits, though he is not as wealthy in this movie as he looks. I can't remember if I have seen Tilda Swinton in a similar role before, but I think if ever there is a role for a cold-hearted manipulative bitch, she should be the perfect person to play that (I'm actually praising her performance here). It's scary to think that corporations might be willing to go to that length to protect their reputation and it's not just fiction. The Insider was based on a true story.

Rating: 7.5/10

Match Point (2006)

The man who said I'd rather be lucky than good saw deeply into life. People are afraid to face how great a part of life is dependent on luck. It's scary to think so much is out of one's own control. There are moments in a match when the ball hits the top of the net and for a split second it can either go forward or fall back. With a little luck it goes forward and you win. Or may be it doesn't and you lose.

Chris Wilton (Jonathan Rhye Myers) is a tennis coach from Ireland who comes to London and happens to meet a wealthy family through Tom (Matthew Goode) whom he coaches. Tom's sister Chloe (Emily Mortimer) seems to develop a liking for mild-mannered Chris, probably more out of sympathy for his poor background than any strong chemistry between the two. Chris obviously doesn't let go of the chance to be with the wealthy Hewitts. Things take a turn when he is invited to a family party and he meets Tom's sexy fiancee, Nola (Scarlett Johansson). What did he just walk into?

Chloe makes sure that her father would give Chris an opportunity at his business empire to get him out of his poverty and bring him into their social circle. All this happens in the first half hour of the movie which would make one wonder if it's real. Chris instantly develops a strong sexual attraction towards Nola and keeps on trying to get in, while not being a little concerned about the fall it might bring upon him which could be just as fast as his rise. Strangely, he keeps getting away with it. For an ambitious person like Chris, we never know what's in it for him. Nola is just a struggling actress. May be he sees something common about both their situations while being part of a super-rich family? Anyway, it's a Woody Allen movie. Things just happen.

Soon after Nola is dumped by Tom, Chris is driven by his deep lust for Nola and before we know it, they are in an affair. The man who cannot conceive with his wife seems to get Nola pregnant. And things go down hill. Nola doesn't want an abortion for the "third time" (apparently she had already done it with her two previous ex-es) and keeps bugging Chris to leave Chloe and live unhappily ever after.

The only way out for Chris seems to be to have a grand plan of killing both Nola and her innocent neighbor and make it look like a burglary-gone-wrong. And once again, Chris gets away with it even though the detective is so close in seeing through his motives. But then, it was about luck, isn't? The only person in this whole drama I feel bad about is the detective. He was so close and so right in connecting the dots that people might call him paranoid. In a final scene we see Chris justifying his actions in a hallucination, while saying-

(To Nola)- You can learn to push the guilt under the rug and go on. Otherwise it overwhelms you.....(To the neighbor) -The innocent is sometimes slain to make way for a grander scheme. You were collateral damage...(To his unborn child) - To never have been born is the greatest boon of life.

Well said. Amen. In other words, that's the beauty of a Woody Allen movie- it's not about justice. It's about reality. Or luck.

Rating - 7/10

The Darjeeling Limited (2007)

Jack: Did you get maced too?
Rita: No, I'm crying.....What's wrong with you?
Jack: Let me think about that. I'll tell you the next time I see you.
Rita: Sure, tell me then.
Jack: Thanks for using me.
Rita (Sighing): You're welcome.

Following Hotel Chevalier, we see Jack Whitman (Jason Schwarztman) on The Darjeeling Limited, travelling from Mumbai to the Himalayas. The spiritual journey is arranged by his eldest brother, Francis (Owen Wilson) and they are also joined by the middle one, Peter (Adrien Brody). Francis seems to be a rich man as seen from his $3,000 loafers and $6,000 belt. Wondering why they haven't spoken to each other in such a long time (after meeting at their Dad's funeral a year back), he wants this journey to be a life-changing experience.

Every man here is dealing with some personal loss, be it Jack's troubled relationship or Peter's doubts about having children as opposed to getting a divorce. Jack keeps monitoring his ex-girlfriend's answering machine, while Peter seems to have developed a habit of picking up things that don't belong to him. Jack, being in a rebound stage, falls for the railway hostess, Rita (Amara Karan). As he lets his brothers read his autobiographical book, Invisible Ink, he keeps insisting that "all characters are fictional". As they keep fighting about things they did and things they didn't do, they also wonder if they could have ever been friends in life.

Francis: I guess there's still some more healing to do
Jack: You're getting there though
Peter: Anyway, it'll definitely add to your character

As they finally get to meet their mother, which was the main objective of Francis's itinerary (left as T.B.D), they probably realize that feeling sorry for themselves is not the best way to go about it and they are finally able to let go of all the baggage. In a final symbolic scene, we see them running for the train back to Mumbai while letting go of all the baggage that had been slowing them for so long.

Wes Anderson, along with Roman Coppola and Jason Schwartzman, comes up with another brilliant, heartbreaking story and manages well to capture the essence of rural India. The scene where we see every person on board on the Darjeeling Limited, including Jack's ex-girlfriend (Natalie Portman) and Bill Murray's unnamed character, is amazing.  The dialogues are again, in the usual "Wes Anderson way", unintentionally funny. And the cast for the movie couldn't have been better chosen.

Rating: 7.5/10