Being John Malkovich
directed by Spike Jonze
15
Before watching the film...
What are your expectations for the film?
I'm not sure what to expect from the film, as although I have heard the movie title said before, I haven't actually heard anything about the film. From looking at the cover, I expect the film will be different from what I generally watch.
After watching the film...
Narrative turning points - at what points does the plot change?
At the beginning of the film, you are introduced to Craig Schwartz, a struggling puppeteer, and his wife Lotte, who keeps a lot of exotic pets. The couple seem fairly ordinary until the plot begins to unravel.
The narrative changes when it becomes apparent that both husband and wife, Craig and Lotte Schwartz, have fallen in love with Maxine, a woman within the same office as Craig, who later becomes his business partner for 'J.M inc'. The plot thickens, when Maxine reveals that she only loves them back when they use the portal to become John Malkovich.
The plot changes again when it is revealed that Dr Lester, head of Lester Corp, isn't actually who he says he is. He's actually Captain Mertin, and he lives forever by occupying vessels when they reach the age of 44, as that is when they are considered 'ripe'. This leads on to later discovering that Malkovich is a vessel, that Mertin will occupy once he is 'ripe', which explains why the portal only leads to John Malkovich.
Eight months later, and Craig is still controlling Malkovich. As a puppeteer, he quickly adapted to the use of the portal and learnt how to control Malkovich's movements and speech, allowing him to become Malkovich permanently. Maxine is pregnant, but he's not the 'father', Lotte is, as she was in Malkovich when Maxine became pregnant. Also, Schwartz is watching 'himself' on a TV documentary, as he changed Malkovich's career from being an actor to becoming a puppeteer. As Malkovich, Craig is finally able to live out his fantasy of being a famous puppeteer.
Seven years later, Maxine and Lotte are raising a daughter, Emily. Mertin (now in Malkovich's body), along with his friends who are also in Malkovich, are planning to use Emily as the next vessel, and at the very end of the film you hear Craig talking to himself as he is looking at Maxine and Lotte through Emily's eyes, as the portal now connects to her.
Memorable moments - what moments in the film stood out for you?
The 'Dance of Despair and Disillusionment' - Schwartz made a puppet figure of himself dance in the opening scene of the film across a puppet theatre. His movements were fast and intricate to make the movements of the figure expressive. Then later on in the film, the dance is repeated when Schwartz is controlling Malkovich, but rather than just controlling the movements of something else, he 'himself', could also feel the movements.
Emotional response - what was your emotional response to the film? Did your emotions change? If so where, why?
My main emotion through the film was just shock and confusion, as there were a few surprising twists in the film that I didn't see coming, such as Dr Lester not being who he said he was, and finding out that the reason the portal led to Malkovich wasn't a coincidence or random, it was planned as he was the next vessel.
The film, in a way, was also slightly distressing, when Craig pinned Lotte down on the floor and held her at gunpoint. He then proceeded to lock her in the pet cage with Elijah the chimp. At this exact moment of the film, you couldn't help but feel sorry for Lotte, as Craig had completely lost it over the fact that Maxine loved her more than him. In the cage, her hands were tied up and her mouth was duct taped so that she couldn't shout for help and she wasn't able to break free. A flashback is then shown, during which it shows that Elijah was once not able to set his parents free, who had been captured and tied up. As he was not quick enough, he also was then captured and tied up, trapped under a net. The flashback then ends, and Elijah, reminded of his childhood trauma which is mentioned earlier in the film but not explained, then helps to untie and free Lotte.
Did you feel empathy/sympathy for any of the characters? Which were your favourites? Why?
I felt sorry for all four of the main characters in the film at one point or another, as they were all dealing with their own struggles, but their struggles had a domino effect, in that they all seemed to affect each other. Listed below, are the reasons why I felt sympathy towards each character:
Craig Schwartz
Lotte Schwartz
Maxine Lund
John Malkovich
directed by Spike Jonze15
Before watching the film...
What are your expectations for the film?
I'm not sure what to expect from the film, as although I have heard the movie title said before, I haven't actually heard anything about the film. From looking at the cover, I expect the film will be different from what I generally watch.
After watching the film...
Narrative turning points - at what points does the plot change?
At the beginning of the film, you are introduced to Craig Schwartz, a struggling puppeteer, and his wife Lotte, who keeps a lot of exotic pets. The couple seem fairly ordinary until the plot begins to unravel.
The narrative changes when it becomes apparent that both husband and wife, Craig and Lotte Schwartz, have fallen in love with Maxine, a woman within the same office as Craig, who later becomes his business partner for 'J.M inc'. The plot thickens, when Maxine reveals that she only loves them back when they use the portal to become John Malkovich.
The plot changes again when it is revealed that Dr Lester, head of Lester Corp, isn't actually who he says he is. He's actually Captain Mertin, and he lives forever by occupying vessels when they reach the age of 44, as that is when they are considered 'ripe'. This leads on to later discovering that Malkovich is a vessel, that Mertin will occupy once he is 'ripe', which explains why the portal only leads to John Malkovich.
Eight months later, and Craig is still controlling Malkovich. As a puppeteer, he quickly adapted to the use of the portal and learnt how to control Malkovich's movements and speech, allowing him to become Malkovich permanently. Maxine is pregnant, but he's not the 'father', Lotte is, as she was in Malkovich when Maxine became pregnant. Also, Schwartz is watching 'himself' on a TV documentary, as he changed Malkovich's career from being an actor to becoming a puppeteer. As Malkovich, Craig is finally able to live out his fantasy of being a famous puppeteer.
Seven years later, Maxine and Lotte are raising a daughter, Emily. Mertin (now in Malkovich's body), along with his friends who are also in Malkovich, are planning to use Emily as the next vessel, and at the very end of the film you hear Craig talking to himself as he is looking at Maxine and Lotte through Emily's eyes, as the portal now connects to her.
Memorable moments - what moments in the film stood out for you?
The 'Dance of Despair and Disillusionment' - Schwartz made a puppet figure of himself dance in the opening scene of the film across a puppet theatre. His movements were fast and intricate to make the movements of the figure expressive. Then later on in the film, the dance is repeated when Schwartz is controlling Malkovich, but rather than just controlling the movements of something else, he 'himself', could also feel the movements.
Emotional response - what was your emotional response to the film? Did your emotions change? If so where, why?
My main emotion through the film was just shock and confusion, as there were a few surprising twists in the film that I didn't see coming, such as Dr Lester not being who he said he was, and finding out that the reason the portal led to Malkovich wasn't a coincidence or random, it was planned as he was the next vessel.
The film, in a way, was also slightly distressing, when Craig pinned Lotte down on the floor and held her at gunpoint. He then proceeded to lock her in the pet cage with Elijah the chimp. At this exact moment of the film, you couldn't help but feel sorry for Lotte, as Craig had completely lost it over the fact that Maxine loved her more than him. In the cage, her hands were tied up and her mouth was duct taped so that she couldn't shout for help and she wasn't able to break free. A flashback is then shown, during which it shows that Elijah was once not able to set his parents free, who had been captured and tied up. As he was not quick enough, he also was then captured and tied up, trapped under a net. The flashback then ends, and Elijah, reminded of his childhood trauma which is mentioned earlier in the film but not explained, then helps to untie and free Lotte.
Did you feel empathy/sympathy for any of the characters? Which were your favourites? Why?
I felt sorry for all four of the main characters in the film at one point or another, as they were all dealing with their own struggles, but their struggles had a domino effect, in that they all seemed to affect each other. Listed below, are the reasons why I felt sympathy towards each character:
Craig Schwartz
- struggling puppeteer
- by the end of the film, he has lost everything
- falls in love with Maxine, but the love is not reciprocated
- his wife, Lotte, is also in love with Maxine
- Maxine eventually leaves him for Lotte
Lotte Schwartz
- to be with Maxine, she has to use the portal to become Malkovich, as Maxine made it clear she would be with Lotte, but "only as Malkovich"
- her husband, Craig, is also in love with Maxine
- Craig goes crazy and locks her in the cage with Elijah the chimp
Maxine Lund
- loves Malkovich, but only when Lotte, later Craig, is seeing through or taking control of him
- rejects Craig, then stays with Craig when he takes over Malkovich, only to later realize that it was Lotte she loved all along and breaks up with him
- Lotte is the 'father' of her baby, which she kept secret whilst with Craig/Malkovich
John Malkovich
- for a while, he had no idea people were paying $200 a trip to use the portal to become him
- his privacy was invaded, and he was given no say in the matter
- he was taken control of by Schwartz for eight months, only to then be free for a few brief moments, before Dr Lester (aka Captain Mertin) takes full control over his body along with his friends who don't want to age
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