BEING JOHN MALKOVICH (1999) - ♦♦♦♦♦

Directed by - Spike Jonze

Written by - Charlie Kaufman

Starring - John Cusack, Cameron Diaz, Catherine Keener, John Malkovich

"A pupeteer working in a filing office discovers a portal that leads right inside the brain of popular American actor John Malkovich. If the bizarre premise is not enough to intrugue you, rest assured that Being John Malkovich is the fruit of the collaboration between two men considered masters of their trade - director Spike Jonze and screenwriter Charlie Kaufman, both possessing seemingly endlessly imaginative skills and working off exceptional mutual understanding. 

Being John Malkovich deals in a provocative way with deep feelings and concepts of existentialism, made all the more haunting by an entertaining storyline impregnated by mystery, surprising twists, a taste for the grotesque and dark sense of humour that is some times laugh out loud funny. It is an openly eccentric film brought to the screen with surrealist visuals and artisanal special effects that enhance its dreamlike and often nightmarish vibes. It also a times recalls works that dwelled upon similar psychological grounds and were made during the golden days of German expressionism. 

The eccentric and outrageous characters are played sublimely by the excellent trio of John Cusack, Catherine Keener and Cameron Diaz. Much praise also goes to John Malkovich for lending his own image and distinctive persona for the sake of this fascinating and one of a kind cinematic experimentation."

Comedy, USA