Alright, so I didn't have a full two and a half hours last night for one of the movies on my immediate To-Watch List, so I reached out to my 2011 To-Smite List for this one. It all counts, I promise.
In any case, I'm still trying to wrap my head around this one, no puns intended. What a strange, existential and utterly surprising movie! Frankly, I haven't seen anything this strange since the Coen Brothers' Burn after Reading. It's a very dark dramedy, utterly absurd at times and at others, just disturbing (locking your wife in a cage so you can have sex with another woman in another man's body?) Again, I'm still wrapping my head around it.
Coming from a world design perspective, I adored the system of the Malkovich portal. Throughout, I kept expecting the same old routine:
There were other little twists I enjoyed throughout, the Lotti's sex-identity crisis (totally had to do a triple take to recognize Cameron Diaz in this role), Maxine's crazy trip of sex and manipulation, and Craig's descent into utter villainy. Then, of course, there is the titular star, Mr. Malkovich, who proves his extraordinary versatility as an actor as he shifts from identity to identity to the spectacular restaurant of Malkovich, a place so terrifying that one hopes no such place could ever exist.
This is a great film to watch for a late-night fix of weirdness. I give it four stars for inventiveness and just being mind-bending. I honestly hope there is no portal into my brain somewhere, for the sake of the traveler.
In any case, I'm still trying to wrap my head around this one, no puns intended. What a strange, existential and utterly surprising movie! Frankly, I haven't seen anything this strange since the Coen Brothers' Burn after Reading. It's a very dark dramedy, utterly absurd at times and at others, just disturbing (locking your wife in a cage so you can have sex with another woman in another man's body?) Again, I'm still wrapping my head around it.
Coming from a world design perspective, I adored the system of the Malkovich portal. Throughout, I kept expecting the same old routine:
- Person A finds magic thing
- Person B doesn't believe in magic thing
- Person A has adventures with magic thing and tries to bring Person B into it
- Magic thing stops working when Person B sees it
- Person B is condescending asshole
- Person A keeps having adventures with magic thing
- Person A saves magic thing from greedy corporation
- Magic thing saves Person A's family, unites A and B, and helps an old lady cross the street before disappearing into the mists of metaphysical vaguery.
There were other little twists I enjoyed throughout, the Lotti's sex-identity crisis (totally had to do a triple take to recognize Cameron Diaz in this role), Maxine's crazy trip of sex and manipulation, and Craig's descent into utter villainy. Then, of course, there is the titular star, Mr. Malkovich, who proves his extraordinary versatility as an actor as he shifts from identity to identity to the spectacular restaurant of Malkovich, a place so terrifying that one hopes no such place could ever exist.
This is a great film to watch for a late-night fix of weirdness. I give it four stars for inventiveness and just being mind-bending. I honestly hope there is no portal into my brain somewhere, for the sake of the traveler.
No comments:
Post a Comment