Peter Mazelis suggests that while Malkovich has suffered "the virtual hijacking of his mind," the characters are all too willing to "trade their identity for love and acceptance" (which is a human strategy that plays out daily on a million stages).
When Malkovich finally enters his own self through his own portal, it's like "being pulled down into the black hole of your own personality," writes Roger Ebert. The noted film critic doesn't say so, but if Malkovich didn't have his memory banks still firing, he would be nothing but a player in Cusack's world of puppetry.
In conclusion, the audience in this film is being jerked from one emotion to the next, which is of course one of the theatrical tactics that make it a
Thanks to Schwartz staying inside Malkovich's body for those very weird eight months, Malkovich becomes a world famous puppeteer, and in the process gives the art of puppetry a positive shot in the arm. What's the point of that? Is the director, Spike Jonze, using Charlie Kaufman's story to revive puppetry? Certainly not. That portion of the film, like others, is not designed to distract viewers, or necessarily thrill them, but rather to keep them glued and wondering what will happen next. It is a story that wanted from the beginning to be an authentically imaginative, innovative form of entertainment that breaks new ground, much as the
Truman Show (with Jim Carey) did. It is story-telling at it's most fascinating and memorable.
Bibliography
Ebert, Roger, 1999, 'Being John Malkovich', The Chicago Sun Times, retrieved August 30, 2011, from http://rogerebert.suntimes.com.
Mazelis, Peter, 1999, 'Comedy, Despair, Isolation', World Socialist Web Site, retrieved August 30, 2011, from http://www.wsws.org.
O'Hehir, Andrew, 1999, 'Being John Malkovich', Salon. Retrieved August 31, 2011, from http://www.salon.com/entertainment/movies/review/1999/10/29/malkovich.
Ram.org, 1999, Being John Malkovich, retrieved August 30, 2011, from www.ram.org/ramblings/movies/being_john_malkovich.html.
Shaw, Daniel C., 2000, 'On Being Philosophical And Being John Malkovich', Lock Haven University of Pennsylvania. Retrieved August 31, 2011, from www.lhup.edu/dshaw/Being%20John.doc.
