2002

December 21, 2002
AMC Saratoga
USA
English
114 minutes

One Story...Four Lives...A Million Ways It Can End--Adaptation.

This film is getting justifiable praise for its screenplay. It may be a bit showoffy, but it is absolutely unlike anything we've seen before. It may not exactly be the best screenplay of the last ten years, but it is great. The basic plot is the adaptation of a book on orchids into a film. The screenplay will be written by Charlie Kaufman, the real-life guy who wrote BEING JOHN MALKOVICH, here played by Nic Cage. That is the entire plot, except it has nothing to do with the plot, really.

Cage meets with a literary agent who wants him to adapt the book into a screenplay. He gives a speech about not turning it into a whole Hollywood thing with shootouts and whatnot. Everything he says at that instant ends up happening in the film. When he talks into a tape recorder during a moment of brainstorming, we realize that when he describes the opening scene, we have already witnessed it. He is writing himself into the screenplay that we see him writing. I realize I'm not making any sense here, but as he changes his mind and redrafts and looks outside for inspiration, those changes and inspirations end up right there on the screen.

I have been firmly in the Nic Cage camp since BIRDY and I thought LEAVING LAS VEGAS was probably the best film of its year. But lately, Cage has been choosing his roles unwisely. Sean Penn was right when he called him a movie star who was no longer an actor. In this he is back to being an actor. He plays both Charlie Kaufman, and his twin brother. They are often in scenes together and although he is not hiding under makeup or anything, there is never a doubt about who is who. Charlie is slouchy and broken down by life, while his happy go lucky brother is all confidence and dimwitted happiness. It is a great performance. Actually, every single person onscreen is fantastic.

I'm sure I need to see it again to catch everything I missed, but it's the good movie season and it's all I can do to see things once.

~~Best Picture of 2002--Toronto Critics, Golden Globe Nomination
~~Nicolas Cage--Best Actor of 2002--Toronto Critics, Golden Globe Nomination
~~Chris Cooper--Best Supporting Actor of 2002--Los Angeles Critics, Toronto Critics, San Francisco Critics, Seattle Critics, Golden Globe Nomination, National Board of Review
~~Spike Jonze--Best Director of 2002--Golden Globe Nomination
~~Charlie Kaufman--Best Screenplay of 2002--New York Critics, Boston Critics, Toronto Critics, Golden Globe Nomination, National Board of Review
~~Meryl Streep--Best Supporting Actress of 2002--Golden Globe Nomination

8.9 Critical Consensus