Being John Malkovich (1999)

Among the surreal work of writer Charlie Kaufman, this one definitely put him on the map for more visionary directors to handle most of his work. With that being said, this film achieves at being well portrayed through John Cusack, Cameron Diaz and obviously, John Malkovich. Otherwise, I was pretty bored.

The plot is rather shaky because it seems it really can't make up its mind on the importance of certain characters. I didn't really pay much attention to Diaz's character, Lotte, until I was about a third through the film.

A factor that makes Being John Malkovich so unique is how often it changes perspectives. Not just the perspective of going into a vessel in John Malkovich's mind, but what happens when more than one person enters, the people who interact with him when he's being controlled and what they see, or what happens when John Malkovich enters John Malkovich? It's a very smart concept that is toyed around with, but doesn't explore the depth as much as it focuses on feeble-minded characters. Most of which are barely developed and really aren't that interesting to begin with.

I watched this based on the praise the director receives from some remarks the hilarious Steve Coogan makes in Coffee and Cigarettes. Seeing as I'm a visual effects fiend, I really didn't notice enough from this film to credit the director with anything other than being able to deliver a few crazy scenes towards the end of the film. Then again, it's not like USA Films just dishes out the budget for such things.