Rating: 
Summary: Better than Being John Malkovich, but it is no Barton Fink.
Review: Spike Jones is not entirely original or as weird as you would expect. Both his films "Being John Malkovich" and "Adaptation" have a lot in common with the Coen Brothers work. No more is this evident than in "Adaptation" which has a lot of plot elements very similar to Barton Fink - successful phobic screenwriter can not write his new screenplay, lounges around in his bed most of the time, goes out to find inspiration for his dull storyline, seeks advice from a screenplay expert, ends up entangled in a murder mystery. So "Adaptation" is certainly far from original although it may appear that way.Basically the plot is pretty much a simple one and not as convoluted as "Being John Malkovich" although it is a story within a story, however it can be appreciated and viewed as just a story about a neurotic screenplay writer Charlie Kaufman and his twin brother Donald Kaufman (Both played really well by Nicolas Cage) who live together. Charlie is trying to write a screenplay about a book called "The Orchid Thief" written by Susan Orlean (Meryl Streep) about a cultivator of Orchids John Laroche (Chris Cooper). Eventually the four meet up with disastrous consequences. The story is never dull and certainly does move along at a fairly good pace. The interesting part of the characters is Charlie and Donald who are both a little different in their own respects and you can see that Cage is having a lot of fun on the screen. Be warned, the film does turn a little nasty and there are many sad elements to the plot line, but overall it is wickedly funny and the acting is on top form. It is an enjoyable little piece of weirdness and still remains pretty mainstream even though it is far from conventional Hollywood. Good film, just not that original if you have seen Barton Fink.
Rating: 
Summary: A Serene Look at Creativity and Life.
Review: Adaptation is one of the most beautiful films I have seen in a long time, one that touched me deeply with its subtle and totally original style,a great achievement from the talent of Spike Jonze,who amazed audiences few years back with his brilliantly surreal Being John Malkovich.
In Adaptation as in Being John Malkovich the reality,fantasy,dreams and fiction collide in more ways than one,giving the viewer a unique experience that is totally rewarding.
Charlie and Donald Kaufman the real life writers of Being John Malkovich return in Adaptation both as the real writers of the film and as 'supposedly' fictionalized characters.
Charlie is assigned to adapt for the big screen a real life non fiction book,The Orchid Thief by bestselling author Susan Orlean, played in a great comeback to top form by Meryl Streep.
The book is about an Orchid thief, a smart yet at the same time naive redneck who has a complusive obsessive behavior to collect things. At first Streep, who is assigned to follow the thief, played perfectly by Chris Cooper, and write a piece about him for the New Yorker, is sceptical,detached from her subject and even bored.But as she slowly enters a world totally alien to her, it awakens another person inside,one that becomes totally aware of the empitness in her own life, an experience that will forever change her world.
Charlie Kaufman in the meantime is trying in vain to get the right approach to his script, in between writer's block, anxiety attacks and self doubts and deprecation. His twin brother Donald on the other hand with his limited intellect but determined and sweet dedication is also writing, a commercial slasher film.The dialogue between the two brothers during the stages of their writing, and their obvious differences, is a great insight into creativity at work with a lot of added humour.There is too a clever reference from Jonze and the Kaufman brothers about the condition and treatment of writers by Hollywood.
The two brothers are played by Nicholas Cage so well!!You will be excused in some scenes for believing even for a second that Charlie and Donald are played by two different actors. This is how great Cage was, moving flawlessly but with substantial emotional and psychological input between the anxiety Charlie and the contentment of Donald.
The paths of scriptwriter,his subject and her 'thief' inevitably collide,and there are some twists: The last part of the film although at first glance might seem totally out of place giving the tone of the film, it is really the fantasy again appearing in the mix, and as the credits roll, you will come to appreciate that part very much.
The film is very serene, philosophical but never overbearingly so,almost spiritual, about the 'essence' of creativity,choices,deep changes,realizations,love,support,and basically life itself.
Even when the thin line between real life,dreams,fantasy,and fiction is often blurred, it does not matter as much as the genuis performances,direction, the originality, and subsequently the message of the film.
Do not miss Adaptation on all accounts!
Rating:
Summary: Is it real? Or just halfway real?
Review: First of all, I think this movie is absolutely brilliant. It's unlike anything I've ever seen which is unsurprising since Kauffman and Jonze's previous film, "Being John Malkovich" invoked similar emotions. So it's the story of Charlie Kauffman (real guy) attempting to write an adapted screenplay of a book called "The Orchid Theif" (real book). Throughout the movie, Kauffman is convinced to instead write the screenplay about himself attempting to write the adaptation rather than writing the adaptation itself. Which turns out to be the movie that you're watching. As far as I can tell, the real Charlie Kauffman had actually attempted to write the film adaptation for the Orchid Theif, but after consistant writer's block, he wrote the film Adaptation with him as the lead. But what about the last third of the movie? I think the real Kauffman might have heeded the advice given to the fake Kauffman in the movie, "Plot doesn't matter as long as you 'wow' the audience in the end." I think this gave the real Kauffman inspiration on how to end his 'true story' with fictional events. It's nerve-racking, I know. But it's so brilliant I couldn't help but love every minute of it.
Rating:
Summary: Is the average movie (re)viewer a total moron?
Review: I won't ruin the end of the movie for those that haven't seen it but I will comment on the reaction to it. Those that see it as a major change of style and tone and are disappointed aren't paying attention to the movie. How could you possibly miss why this happens? Were you sleeping through the film? Were you lamenting over the fact that you had to listen to dialogue rather than watch scantily clad women and tricked-out cars? Were you missing the infernal pairing of Bruckheimer and Bay that keeps you living? Honestly take a look even in the beginning credits and realize that this movie is written by Charlie Kaufman and his (nonexistent) twin Donald Kaufman and you'll realize why the style changes. But oh well. While I laugh at all that comes in that section these viewers can sit and mutter about how things didn't pan out as they like.
Rating:
Summary: An adaptation about an adaptation?
Review: This is one of the most original and wonderfull movies I have seen in a long time. This movie takes the whole process of adapting a book into a movie and makes that into a movie. Sound confusing? Well it kind of is, but it is more than worth the time it takes to sort it out. The mistake most people make when crticizing this film is that they think it is about the book Charilie is trying to adapt, when in fact it is more about how adapting a book has become a standard process with predictable outcomes. The movie starts with the initial excitement of being able to adapt a book into a movie, then segues into the difficulties one has in getting it right. Finally, it is a commentary on how Hollywood basically makes the same movie regardless of how the book might turn out. Charlie completely mocks this process with the way he ends the movie (No, I am not going to tell you how it ends). when it seems like every single movie put out by Hollywood is nearly identical, it is refreshing for somebody to come out and take a stand against that crap and show what the medium is about. The performances are fantastic. Nicolas Cage has been making some awful movies lately, but this performance more than makes up for the utter crap he has been a part of. This movie is to be savoured and watched multiple times. Just do not believe what you are watching is all there is.
Rating:
Summary: Second time's a charm
Review: It took me two tries to really love this movie. In my previous review I complained about the "stupid action ending", and wrote that "an original structure is not worth much without good content to put in it, and this is a case that demands better". I also complained about the stereotypical neurotic writer. I gave it a lower score of 4.2 stars - something I tend to give to great movies that are marred by a blatant cliché. In retrospect, those complaints were justified by a first approach to the material. Like 8 1/2, a movie that has a similar recursive narrative structure (that is to say, a story about a story about a story, all happening at the same time), Adaptation benefits highly from a second viewing, especially since it lacks a commentary track, or any other material for that matter. This is always a sad state of affairs. One of the stories concerns a New Yorker journalist who talks with an orchid fanatic named John Laroche in order to write a book called "The Orchid Thief" (a book which, by the way, exists). Another story, perhaps our "main story", is about screenwriter Charlie Kaufman's desperate attempt to write a screenplay about "The Orchid Thief", years later. Yet another story, implicit, is that of the real Charlie Kaufman's desperate attempt to write a movie about "The Orchid Thief", punctuated by a couple of clips and actresses from real life. All these stories, as I mentioned, unravel simultaneously at different levels. So far it's much like 8 1/2, which was about Fellini trying to make a movie about a director who is trying to make a movie about his own life. The difference is that Adaptation. has another structure, horizontal this time, which explains the things I complained about. Since the explanation would be a spoiler, I won't give it. It reverberates the explicit themes of the movie : the difference between movie fiction and reality, the nature of passion, trying to grasp the identity of things, and perhaps also force. Charlie Kaufman: I don't want to cram in sex or guns or car chases or characters learning profound life lessons or growing or coming to like each other or overcome obstacles to succeed in the end. The book isn't like that, and life isn't like that, it just isn't.
Rating: 
Summary: No good
Review: The one truth in this movie is when screenwriter Charlie reviles himself for turning a screenplay about The Orchid Thief into a screenplay about himself. I agree! Cage as Charlie is embarrassing - he seems to be trying to copy Woody Allen. The only good moments here are provided by Streeps and Cooper (Streeps is especially good). The rest is a waste of time. And the concluding segment, where Charlie gives in to his twin Donald and produces an "action" ending, is just silly. Very disappointing! I had high hopes and simply don't understand the enthusiasm others have expressed.
Rating: 
Summary: Be prepared for the bizarre twists.
Review: I'm not here to bash the film; I personally thought everyone played a dynamic part, thus making it quite intricate.
Don't watch this movie if you're in a good mood, it'll only leave you depressed and questioning the characters of your friends and wondering how short your life is.
N. Cage did an excellent job playing a double of himself, but I wasn't prepared for the twists and turns of his character or Meryl Streep's character. It was almost like something out of Final Destination 1 and 2. The movie did a great job of keep me guessing, and even though I was depressed by a lot of the scenes I was drawn back to following the storyline and the characters until the end.
Rating:
Summary: Perhaps the best movie ever made
Review: Why?
This film is a just filled with universal truths. It says so much and really reaches out to the viewer and makes him or her consider his or her own life. See the movie to understand.
N.B.: I have found that men enjoy this movie slightly more than do women.
Rating: 
Summary: BEING BIZARRE
Review: Maybe it's a case of 'liking this sort of thing', but I found "Adaptation" to be, like the writer and director's "Being John Malkovich", just too complicated and silly to be enjoyable, with a plotline running in and out of the lines of ironic boundary. This is even a little less impressive as it concerns the reliable dramatic device of a man and his twin brother, who may or may not be a figment of the other's imagination. Nicholas Cage, Meryl Streep, and Chris Cooper offer dynamic performances in the principal leads but it's the increasingly bizarre and emotionless story which gives the thing an impenetrably chilly air.
|
