This is going to sound as weird as Adaptation itself, but I want to seriously note that I have seen parts of this movie in my dreams. And no, I’m not making reference to the masturbatory fantasies of our central character Charlie Kaufman, rather I am referring to the film’s end sequence that plays out in a swamp at night. I remember dreaming that scene vividly in my mind and as I watched Adaptation, I could predict what happened in my mind as it played out on screen. It’s totally weird, I know, and I hope that my revelation about this doesn’t make you distrust me more as a reviewer of this fine film.
The movie Adaptation itself really is a cerebral and dark look into the world of intense, serious and thought provoking screen-writing. It’s a commentary on, as well as a journey into, the world of art and creativity itself. In fact, the film actually serves to challenge and question the very basis of, and reason for, creativity itself.
The movie features Nicholas Cage as screenwriters Charlie Kaufman and Donald Kaufman. This is a dual role for Cage, albeit a very twisted role that really can screw with the mind when you see both of his characters interacting together on-screen. Cage’s performance as the Kaufman brothers is extraordinary. Through sheer tenacity, he gives us a deeply textured look into the mind of two really warped set of individuals. The movie sets up these two brothers in a way that really juxtaposes two worlds: the first being a world where the creation of movies exists as art, the other being a world where the creation of movies exists purely as commercial material whose sole purpose is to make money. The film rightfully suggests that these two worlds are at odds against each other - representing a macro view of the world of filmmaking, where the two ends co-exist as the two ends of a strangely textured mobius strip that is constantly and very violently pulling each other apart.
The film also stars Meryl Streep (sans foreign accent =) as novelist Susan Orlean, as well as Chris Cooper who plays a character who is the central human subject of Orlean’s book, and Charlie’s subsequent adaptation of said book. Throughout the course of the film, we follow Charlie, who is stuck on his very personal quest of trying to seriously adopt Susan Orlean’s novel The Orchid Thief into a filmable screenplay. Unfortunately, Charlie finds himself hopelessly lost with his subject matter, unable to find the structure to ground his story in a reality that would be believable for an audience.
In the end, his solution to this problem is to simply insert himself into the screenplay and as such, the movie winds its way through this to its strange and very twisted conclusion(s). Overall, Charlie’s story is very inspirational due to the personal drive he puts into it. Adaptation has the power to pull its own audience into the story as Charlie desperately searches for a way to bring flowers and other thoughts to life on screen in an interesting and captivating way. And in case you’re still confused, I know the film’s tagline (which I actually now love) will help explain things: “Charlie Kaufman writes the way he lives... With Great Difficulty. His Twin Brother Donald Lives the way he writes... with foolish abandon. Susan writes about life... But can’t live it. John’s life is a book... Waiting to be adapted. One story... Four Lives... A million ways it can end.’’ Or maybe it won’t.
In the end, it’s important to remember that the movie is based on a number of real people (and fake ones too), but exactly how much of it is true, and how much it is made up, we may never know. But there is no doubt that Adaptation is one hell of a mind screw (I’d say f@$k, or f u c k, but the as we all know the Epinion censors won’t let me) with some excellent acting, strangely funny plot twists and a very thought provoking commentary on life. But I want to break now from the main part of my review and talk a bit about the film’s writer Charlie Kaufman, as well as the film’s director, Spike Jonze.
Charlie Kaufman is an interesting animal, having also penned Jonze’s Being John Malkovich, and now Adaptation, as well as the upcoming Confessions of a Dangerous Mind. Kaufman is a brilliant writer, infusing an interesting mix of characters with strange situations that reveal much about the depths of the human soul and the inspirations that drive it. And Spike Jonze is another interesting animal, having worked as a writer, director and actor, who has been involved in some of the most interesting films of the last five years. As an actor, he’s appeared in such interesting works as The Game and Three Kings; as a director, he’s given us the wonderfully entertaining mind-screws Being John Malkovich, and now Adaptation; and as a writer, he’s given us Jackass: the Movie (ok, considering Jackass, maybe he isn’t perfect). But my main point behind listing there works is to prove that both of these artists are worth noting for their ability to really shake things up by finding stories that question life and turn it upside down, in films that are very well made.
Of course, these kind of thought-provoking films aren’t for everyone, and in the end I think films like Adaptation prove that great stories aren’t that different from life itself. The entire process of living life itself, with all its sex and death, and the aspiration for achieving more in life really do affect the art that humans can create.
So if you like this kind of stuff (and especially if you like insights into the writing process and want to see some fun poked at writing-guru Robert McKee), then go see Adaptation. If you don’t like any of that, then go see something else, because Adaptation will not be for everyone - especially those who don’t like risk in the movies they watch. All I can say is that I liked Adaptation, and I’ll hope you’ll like it too.
Grade: A-
(Movie originally reviewed on December 26, 2002)