Review of Being John Malkovich (1999) by John B — 03 May 2017

Fascinatingly weird. Writing the plot in one sentence is too much fun: A puppeteer, who lives with his wife, chimpanzee and the rest and works on the 7.5th floor of his office building, discovers a passageway that leads into John Malkovich's psyche.

Is the movie as much fun? Yeah, but only when we are with John Malkovich. The fight over his body and mind -- i.e., who controls the body and who has sex with the body -- is a delight, and there is something so endearing and inspirational about *SPOILER* John Malkovich's career change into puppetry.

Even though I know someone else is controlling the body, I sincerely believe it is Malkovich who wanted this. That goes to show how crafty of a puppeteer Craig Schwartz (John Cusack) is. Still, I feel like this movie gives far too much weight to its insipid love triang-- trapezoid(?) of unlikable characters.

Except John Malkovich. There is something especially naked about the actor, to play himself, living his normal life, and, along with Spike Jonze's oddball touches (you have never seen enough Malkovich until he enters his own psyche), Being John Malkovich succeeds on craftsmanship.

The story might wear on many, after a while, and I already feel it wearing on me.