It was roughly 2003 or 2004 of my college years, when some of my sophisticated acquaintances (roommates, ex boyfriends, random hipsters I’d meet at the local Shesha bar) introduced me to the almighty world of cine-meta: The wonderful works of Charlie Kaufman, Michel Gondry, Chris Cunningham, and the like. As for Mister Kaufman, I came to realize that a great deal of my favorite films had his involvement.
Adaptation:
Apparently this one was literally an “adaptation” (roughly based on some part of Kaufman’s own life story … or something). I love the scene where Meryl’s character mimics the dial tone of the phone. I’d always wanted to do that ever since; but with the advent of the smartphones, that sound will likely go to the same place the rotary dial and cassette tapes have.
Being John Malkovich:
Mind blowing in and of itself, with the superficial side benefit of knowing, “Yes! Yes there is a hair style that can make Cameron Diaz not look like a goddess”, this film is an all time favorite of mine. Cusack’s character’s puppets and their symbolism was likely lost on me upon my initial viewing. However, it’s one of those movies I appreciated as my film palate matured, after which I started to consider more deeply the theme of “control” – from being controlled to who our own puppeteers are in everyday life.
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Human Nature:
This one was the “Wild Child” type of story. I forget why the character in the story starts out in the middle of the forest when he is “discovered”; but some scientist ends up attempting to educate this ape-like man who was raised in the woods, to become a cultured member of society. In the end, despite the civility he attains and self control with which he generally manages to comport himself, he ultimately ends up regressing back to his caveman-esque, base, and sexual impulses.
And then…
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind:
There weren’t a ton of us in that little theater when we arrived for the showing of this indie-style film (the nature of whose plot we still weren’t entirely sure as the lights dimmed and the movie began), but when it was over, there was a general pause, followed by a consensus of clapping, shouting “Again! Again!”
That is a movie I can watch again, and again, and again.
It also taught me the very important fact that you don’t need a medical procedure to cut off men like gangrenous limbs. Case in point: The ironic happenstance wherein the same boyfriend with whom I saw and enjoyed this movie was the first to be “Eternally Sunshined” from my own mind.
I’ll save you the backstory.
Synecdoche, New York:
It’s amazing how someone as physically repulsive looking as Philip Seymore Hoffman manages to make you fall in love with him in every movie he does. Like Eternal Sunshine, the soundtrack (namely compliments of Jon Brion – a ridiculously genius composer, second probably only to Clint Mansel) augments the movie’s quality, but the meta elements really cause you to contemplate your own brutal ugliness that lies beneath – who you really are.
Who would portray you in a play about your life? And – worse – what if they followed you everywhere: a perpetual reflection, reminding you of all your faults all the time, performing actions parallel to your own proclivities, spotlighting all of your idiosyncrasies, and drawing out the flaws about which you’re most furtive. A merciless mimic sounds like the worst possible punishment; but for the protagonist in this film, I find him almost to be a masochistic Warhol-esque artist character with that ceaseless need to extract the brutal truth from everyone, including himself: He’s both the voyeur and the voyeur’s object.
Anyway, the point of all of this is that I was rubbing my hands together in anticipation for Kaufman’s next project involvement. Needless to say, back last year, when I learned that he was doing some sequel to a cartoon type of thing (Kung Fu Panda 2), I ceased the hand rubbing, and made… well…
*this* face:
Anyway, maybe the cartoony stuff was just research for his new thing he’s got coming out, called Anomalisa. It’s some stop-motion animation feature, and he’s apparently raising money from his potential audience for it to be a success.
I guess I understand the reasoning behind doing a project like this. The creativity behind the stories writers pour their souls into preparing won’t get compromised. Actors don’t need to be paid, relied upon, or ass kissed to keep them happy. And I’m sure there’s all the other “technical” stuff that usually happens on set that would normally create problems and can now be nixed…
So, while I genuinely hope it doesn’t disappoint, I just can’t help but think about the Malkovich puppets and miss the “real” actors surprising me with their range and talents. I mean, Cage never disappoints, but seeing Carey (usually a comedian) do a role like Joel blew my mind with his “spotless” performance.
I miss that.
When it comes out to DVD, I guess I may give the cartoony thing a chance. The only redeeming factor that gives me hope about the quality, is that this was apparently created around the same time (in the form of a play) as when Eternal Sunshine came out and they’re just now making it a movie; so it may be genuinely good if it has that same breed of genius injected into it. I guess I just feel like I’ve already been cheated inasmuch as I’ve already had to wait far too long between each of his quality movies. Also, since I’m an old fashioned fan of the usual Kaufman flicks, I don’t think I’ll be funding the above project as requested. You’re a genius and I adore your art, but the stop motion stuff just doesn’t do it for me…
Sorry, Charlie.
xoxo
<3~A