Themes: Trading Bodies, Love Triangles, Gender-Bending
Main Cast: John Cusack, Cameron Diaz, Catherine Keener, John Malkovich, Orson Bean, Mary Kay Place
Release Year: 1999
Country: UK/US
Run Time: 112 minutes
MPAA Rating: R
Plot
Would you pay money to journey into the mind of the star of Con Air, The Killing Fields, and In The Line of Fire? Puppeteer Craig Schwartz (John Cusack) is having money problems, so he takes a temporary job as a file clerk on the seventh-and-a-half floor of a large office building. One day, while rummaging behind a cabinet, he finds a small door that leads to the center of the mind of actor John Malkovich (played by, you guessed it, John Malkovich). Craig discovers that entering the portal allows him to become John Malkovich for a brief spell, and in time he and his beautiful but aloof co-worker Maxine (Catherine Keener) get the bright idea to charge admission for the privilege of spending 15 minutes inside the head of a well-known actor. Malkovich realizes that something strange is happening to him, but can do little to stop it, as strangers take over his mind for a quarter-hour at a time. Craig's wife Lotte (Cameron Diaz) eventually takes a trip into Malkovich's psyche, and she soon finds herself in love with Maxine, with whom Malkovich has an affair; meanwhile, Maxine in time becomes infatuated with both Craig and Lotte, but only when they're inside Malkovich. Being John Malkovich marked the feature-length debut of director Spike Jonze, who previously made acclaimed music videos for Weezer, The Beastie Boys, and The Breeders, among others. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
Review
Surrealist cinema at its most inventive and edifying, this feature debut by music video maestro Spike Jonze poses questions of existentialism and celebrity without the pretension of feeling like you're in a philosophy symposium. Armed with Charlie Kaufman's devilishly clever and narratively sound script, the director creates a funhouse of the mind, but never strays from its originating premise, which involves the fascination and consequences of living as someone else, even for a brief period. Filled with offbeat humor and surprisingly free of empty flash (unusual for a director whose only previous experience is in music video), Malkovich finds a genre niche that seems relatively untapped, similar to a film like David Lynch's Blue Velvet, that created a world all its own even in the midst of familiar surroundings. A mid-level success upon release, the film was honored on several critics' Ten Best lists of 1999, and garnered first-time Oscar nominations for Jonze, Kaufman, and co-star Catherine Keener, who is ruthlessly funny as the object of John Cusack's affections.
Charlie Sheen - Charlie Sheen; Carlos Jacott - Larry the Agent; W. Earl Brown - Erroll; Ned Bellamy - Derek Mantini; K.K. Dodds - Wendy; Richard Fancy - Johnson Heyward; Willie Garson - Guy In Restaurant; Kevin Lee - Ballet Dancer; James Murray - Student Puppeteer; Byrne Piven - Captain Mertin; Bill M. Ryusaki - Mr. Hiroshi; Gregory Sporleder - Drunk At Bar; Patti Tippo - John Malovich's Mother; Bill Wittman - Featured Character Voices; Dan Hansen - Boy John Malkovich; Greg O'Neill - Featured Character Voices; Neil Ross - Featured Character Voices; William Nichols Buck - Doctor Lester's Friend; Kevin Carroll - Cab Driver; Reggie Hayes - Don; Mariah O'Brien - Girl Creeped Out By John Malkovich; Octavia L. Spencer - Woman In Elevator; Pamela Hayden - Featured Character Voices; Gerald Emerick - Sad Man In Line; David Wyler - Doctor Lester's Friend; Christine Coleman - Doctor Lester's Friend; Audrey Gelfand - Doctor Lester's Friend; Michelle Madden - Featured Character Voices; Eric Weinstein - Father at Puppet Show; Madison Lanc - Daugher at Puppet Show; Judith Wetzell - Tiny Woman; Kelly Teacher - Emily; Jacqueline Benoit - Doctor Lester's Friend; Eddie J. Low - Doctor Lester's Friend; Yetta Ginsburg - Doctor Lester's Friend; Ralph W. Spaulding - Doctor Lester's Friend; Sylvester Jenkins - Doctor Lester's Friend; Jeanne Diehl - Doctor Lester's Friend; Roy C. Johnson - Doctor Lester's Friend; Flori Wyler - Doctor Lester's Friend; Marlowe Bassett - Ballet Dancer; Kristin D'Andrea - Ballet Dancer; Jessica Neuberger - Ballet Dancer; Jennifer Canzoneri - Ballet Dancer; Charlene Grimsley - Ballet Dancer; Sara Rifkin - Ballet Dancer; Kristie Cordle - Ballet Dancer; Christine Krejer - Ballet Dancer; Elizabeth Rivera - Ballet Dancer; Denise Dabrowski - Ballet Dancer; Erica Long - Ballet Dancer; Chelsa Sjostrom - Ballet Dancer; Yvonne Montelius - Ballet Dancer; Jayne Hess - Featured Character Voices; Christopher Bing - Himself [uncredited]
Credit
Peter Andrus - Art Director, Justine Baddeley - Casting, Kim Davis-Wagner - Casting, Tony Maxwell - Choreography, California Ballet - Choreography, Maxine Mahon - Choreography, Casey Storm - Costume Designer, Thomas Patrick Smith - First Assistant Director, Mark S. Constance - First Assistant Director, Spike Jonze - Director, Eric Zumbrunnen - Editor, Michael Kuhn - Executive Producer, Charlie Kaufman - Executive Producer, Emanuel "Manny" Millar - Hair Styles, Lori Guidroz - Hair Styles, Greg Lazzaro - Location Manager, Carter Burwell - Composer (Music Score), Dawn Solér - Musical Direction/Supervision, Björk - Songwriter, Lynn Barron - Makeup, Debra L. Ferullo - Makeup, John Vulich - Makeup Special Effects, Optic Nerve Studios - Makeup Special Effects, Peter Gulla - Camera Operator, KK Barrett - Production Designer, Lance Acord - Cinematographer, Steve Golin - Producer, Sandy Stern - Producer, Michael Stipe - Producer, Vincent Landay - Producer, Susan Nickerson - Research, Fanee Aaron - Set Designer, Sloane U'ren - Set Designer, Elisa Bussetti - Set Designer, Forrest Brakeman - Sound Mixer, Ren Klyce - Sound/Sound Designer, Forrest Brakeman - Sound/Sound Designer, Malcolm Fife - Sound/Sound Designer, Mit Out Sound - Sound/Sound Designer, Nick Peck - Sound/Sound Designer, Dan Bradley - Stunts Coordinator, Tim Clawson - Unit Production Manager, Charlie Kaufman - Screenwriter, Jim Fealy - Additional Cinematography, Daniel Radford - Visual Effects Supervisor, Gray Marshall - Visual Effects Supervisor, Marvin Walowitz - Sound Effects Editor, Daphne Flescher - Animal Trainer/Wrangler, Goin' Ape - Animal Trainer/Wrangler, Barbara Gorden - Animal Trainer/Wrangler, Wendy Horton - Animal Trainer/Wrangler, Tim Clawson - Executive in Charge of Production, Joe Everett - Unit Publicist, Joe Hutshing - Additional Editing, Robert Small - Digital Effects, Carol Lille - Head Animal Trainer, Gucci Westman - Makeup Supervisor, Adam Milo Smalley - Music Editor, Linda Rae Shamest - Post Production Supervisor, Sean Wimmer - Post Production Supervisor, Karen Ruth Getchell - Production Coordinator, Gilly Ruben - Production Supervisor, Gary Gegan - Re-Recording Mixer, Matthew Iadarola - Re-Recording Mixer, Hilary Momberger - Script Supervisor, John Gray - Special Effects Coordinator, Kirk R. Gardner - Steadicam Operator, Richard L. Anderson - Supervising Sound Editor, Elliot Koretz - Supervising Sound Editor, Margaux Mackay - Visual Effects Producer, Shari Gray - Costume/Wardrobe, Michelle Madden - Casting Associate, Curt Schulkey - Dialogue Editor, John Cucci - Foley Artist, Dan O'Connell - Foley Artist, Peter A. Ramsey - Storyboard Artist, Gray Matter FX - Visual Effects, Loop Troop - ADR Voice Casting, David Alstadter - Foley Mixer, Linda Lew - Foley Recordist, John Ziegler - Special Effects Foreman, Ryan Arndt - Special Effects Technician, Mirage Effects - Title Design, Pacific Title - Title Design, Andy Jenkins - Title Design
Craig Schwartz (John Cusack) is an unsuccessful puppeteer and in a forlorn marriage with his pet-obsessed wife Lotte (Cameron Diaz). He gains employment through Dr. Lester (Orson Bean) at LesterCorp, run out of the low-ceiling offices on floor 7½ of the Mertin Flemmer building in New York City. Schwartz, while filing paperwork, discovers a portal behind a filing cabinet, and when he enters it, finds himself in the mind of actor John Horatio Malkovich (John Malkovich), able to observe and sense whatever Malkovich does for fifteen minutes before he is ejected and dropped into a ditch adjacent to the New Jersey Turnpike. When he reveals the portal to his co-worker Maxine (Catherine Keener), they decide to start a business to allow others to experience Malkovich at $200 a head. When Schwartz explains his new business venture to Lotte, she decides that she must try the portal. Lotte becomes obsessed with the experience, which allows her to live out her transgender desires. One time while Lotte is inside Malkovich, he goes on a date with Maxine. Maxine falls in love with Malkovich (with Lotte inside him), and they continue to see each other in this fashion, including making love to each other. Schwartz, realizing that he has been forsaken by both women, ties and locks up his wife, while he enters into Malkovich's mind and dates Maxine. Schwartz discovers that he is able to control Malkovich's actions while in his head, and this causes the actor to become paranoid. After consulting with his friend Charlie Sheen, Malkovich trails Maxine to the Mertin Flemmer building, where he finds out about, and insists upon trying the portal. He finds himself in a world where everyone looks like him and can only say "Malkovich"; he is quickly ejected and meets Schwartz by the turnpike. Malkovich angrily demands that Schwartz close the portal, but he refuses.
As Schwartz enters Malkovich to prepare for the next date with Maxine, Lotte escapes her bonds and seeks out Dr. Lester. From him, Lotte learns that Dr. Lester is well aware of the portal and has been using it to live on for years after years, changing from one dying body to a younger one each time. When the body is "ripe", the portal moves to its next host. Anyone who manages to enter the portal at the right time when the body becomes "ripe" gets to live on in the body. At the present time, the portal is connected to the body of Malkovich, which is getting "ripe" soon. Dr. Lester reveals to Lotte his plan to use Malkovich as a host for himself and several of his friends. Lotte warns him that Schwartz has become able to control Malkovich and it may be difficult to displace him.
While out on a date with Maxine, Schwartz decides to remain in Malkovich indefinitely. He spends the next eight months in Malkovich's body and through his control of the body, turns Malkovich into a world-famous puppeteer, revitalizing the art of puppetery. Malkovich also gets married to Maxine during this period of time. Eventually, their relationship becomes more distant. Maxine becomes pregnant. As the time when Malkovich's body turns ripe and the portal finds its next host draws near, Dr. Lester and his friends capture Maxine and demand of Schwartz that he leave Malkovich's body, threatening to kill Maxine if he doesn't cooperate. Schwartz refuses. Lotte, believing Maxine to be the source of her problems, seeks her out at the Mertin Flemmer building; the two fall together into the portal, travel through Malkovich's childhood memories, and end up being ejected next to the turnpike. Maxine then reveals to Lotte that she conceived when Lotte was inside Malkovich's body. The two fall in love with each other.
After a bar fight, Schwartz decides to leave Malkovich's body voluntarily. Malkovich finds he briefly has control of himself before Dr. Lester and his friends enter the portal, just before the portal moves on to the next host. After Schwartz discovers that Lotte and Maxine have fallen for each other, he uses the portal again but finds himself in the next host which happens to be the Emily, the baby of Maxine. Schwartz ends up being forced to watch Maxine and Lotte live happily ever after through the eyes of the child.
Reception
The film received extremely positive reviews from critics with a 92% "fresh" rating on Rotten Tomatoes[2] and ranked 441st on Empire magazine's 2008 list of the 500 greatest movies of all time.[3]The film was widely praised for its originality, both in terms of the script, which won Kaufman the Independent Spirit Award for Best First Screenplay, and Jonze's direction. Kaufman's blending of fact and outrageous fiction was a theme continued in his next film with Jonze, Adaptation., which was nominated for an Oscar in 2003.[4]
Cameos
Spike Jonze makes a cameo appearance as Derek Mantini's assistant. Brad Pitt also has a half-second-long cameo, as a miffed star in the documentary on Malkovich's career. He seems to be on the verge of saying something before the shot ends. Sean Penn also appears in the movie as a fan of Malkovich's puppeteer work. Film director David Fincher makes an uncredited appearance as Christopher Bing in the American Arts & Culture pseudo documentary on John Malkovich. Charlie Sheen appears as Malkovich's best friend and confidant. Winona Ryder, Andy Dick, and the members of Hanson can be seen in the audience of a Malkovich puppet show. All of the members of the band Phantom Planet provided voice work as Malkovich ran through a dark tunnel.[citation needed] Kirk Moulin appears as Malkovich's main photo double in the restaurant scene.[citation needed]
