Being John Malkovich

In this film, a down-on-his-heels puppeteer working as a file clerk on the seventh-and-a-half floor of a New York City office building discovers a secret portal leading directly into the consciousness of actor John Malkovich. Deeply hilarious, dramatically compelling, and deliciously off-beat, Being John Malkovich was perhaps the most unique American movie of the 1990s. It drew countless rave reviews—especially for its jubilantly inventive script, the remarkable debut of screenwriter Charlie Kaufman.

Praise

"A wonderfully demented fantasia . . . inspired madness . . . a metaphysical journey about identity, gender, creativity, and the urge to transform oneself, Being John Malkovich looks as if it were hatched by Terry Gilliam or Lewis Carroll on drugs."—Edward Guthmann, The San Francisco Chronicle

"A clever and outrageous piece of whimsical fantasy that is unique, unpredictable, and more than a little strange. Kaufman . . . has a truly singular imagination." —Kenneth Turan, The Los Angeles Times

"More than just the latest cool, smart, funny movie. It jumps off the screen with . . . freshness, originality and [a] light-handed stranglehold on the Zeitgeist."—Jay Carr, The Boston Globe

"Every once in a long, long while a movie comes along that is like no other. A movie that creates a new world for us and uses it to produce wonderful things."—Roger Ebert, Chicago-Sun Times

"With just a hundred people like, or trying to be, John Malkovich, America could be an inhabitable republic again."—David Thomon, Independent on Sunday

About the Author(s)

Charlie Kaufman

Charlie Kaufman is also the scriptwriter for Adaptation.