I've wanted to see this one forever. First, it was written by Charlie Kaufman. Second, it's about getting into someone's head. How can you go wrong, right? Well, I wasn't disappointed.
The plot involves a puppeteer who begrudgingly consents to take a job as a filer in an office on the 7 1/2 floor of an office building. This floor sits literally between the 7th and 8th floors requring the elevator rider to stop the car between those floors and opening the doors with a crowbar to get out. It's a low overhead floor (groan).
Anyway, he accidentally discovers this doorway that leads into John Malkovich's head, and after 15 minutes, he is dumped onto the side of the New Jersey Turnpike. This launches the plan of selling trips into Malkovich's head for $200 for those precious 15 minutes.
What revolves around all this? Well the puppet guy is married to a woman who owns an animal shop and has an array of critters around the house. He meetsa woman on the 7 1/2 floor and falls head over heels for her, and she's the one who comes up with the head trip idea. Well, once the wife gets a taste of Malkovich getting a taste of the office girl, the jealousy starts to rage and that's where the fun really begins.
The characters here are all unique and clever. They are believable and fun to watch, and we even get Malkovich himself playing a role in this weird fantasy going on where he's the unwilling star. The puppeteering is very impressive throughout, making you wonder what you've been missing in the world of marionettes, since these were incredibly lifelike and very well performed.
It's a great film and very comedic, especially in the beginning.When the drama kicks in, we're ready for it, and it gives us a good mix of zany versus serious. Definitely worth watching. And if you're worried about it being too Kaufman, not to worry. It's odd, but it's one of his tamer works.
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment