Being John Malkovich (1999 Spike Jonze)

"You don't know how lucky you are being 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. And they won't allow it... because I raise issues."
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0120601/

This is an odd one, undoubtedly one of the oddest films I have seen in my life, and not in a bad way. I don't know how the concept was arrived at but basically budding puppeteer Craig gets a new job as a filer and when moving a cabinet finds a tunnel that leads into the mind of the actor John Malkovich for 15 minutes, you're spit out into a ditch on the side of the New Jersey Turnpike! Insanity! However this leads to confusing love triangles and utter more insanity when Malkovich goes down the tunnel himself. Visually the puppetry is really nice, and it makes an obvious but cool metaphor for the control of a person and Cusack's character, Craig the puppeteer is interesting and almost cool if he wasn't so mad.

Obviously themes of the film in a more real way are about how fame corrupts and what we would do to be someone else. These are nicely played upon and the story becomes quite fairy tale in its end with the story of immortality.

I'm finding this a difficult review.... basically its a really good and really odd film. It has to be watched with a lot of suspension of disbelief but if you can get around its extreme plot I think you will enjoy it... Malkovich Malkovich
7.5/10