Everything About Being John Malkovich

Everything About Being John Malkovich
By: Chelsea De Barros, Kaitlin Cipriano, Madison Handfield and Niky Ménard-Labbé

Being John Malkovich trailer

The title of the film was “Being John Malkovich”, and it was made in 1999 (IMDb). The director of the movie was Spike Jonze, the writer was Charlie Kaufman, and the four lead actors were John Cusack, Cameron Diaz, Catherine Keener, and John Malkovich himself (IMDb). Finally, the duration of the movie was 1 hour and 53 minutes (IMDb).

Being John Malkovich is a comedy which tells the story of Craig Schwartz, an unemployed puppeteer living in New York City with his wife, Lotte. He gets a job as a file clerk at an office where he meets his new colleague by the name of Maxine, who he gains feelings for. While at the office, Craig finds a portal that leads to the inside of famed actor John Malkovich’s mind, enabling him to be able to perceive everything John Malkovich is doing. As the story progresses, Lotte explores John Malkovich’s mind and Maxine and Lotte form a special bond which causes them to explore mutual feelings for one another. Furthermore, John Malkovich comes to the realization of what is happening and attempts to put a stop to it. However, due to Craig’s love towards Maxine, Craig does not let that happen as he sees the portal as a motive to gain her love. Through this all, the portal gets explored by several people, thus for Craig and others, it becomes a tool that allows people to live out their fantasies.

A film technique introduced in the movie would be the use of props. A significant prop used in the film would be the puppets because if looked at carefully, it is clear that Craig has designed the puppets to resemble the actual characters in the film. For instance, Craig has one that looks very much like him and he has one that also resembles Maxine. In the movie, the puppets are sometimes used as a way for Craig to escape reality and express his true desires. In fact, Craig’s appreciation and devotion towards them also symbolizes his feelings toward the idea of being able to fully control another human being, as well as portray them in a more simplified way. An example of this would be after Craig first meets Maxine as he sets up a scenario with his puppets where her puppet falls in love and kisses his. It is evident that Craig wishes that this scenario could be a reality but as he knows this is not possible, so he therefore lives out his fantasies through his puppets. Another thing we can consider a significant prop in the movie is the telephone, which was important as it represented the connection between Maxine, Lotte, and Craig, as they would often communicate with each other in that manner, especially when it concerned John and the portal. For example, during one of the more intense scenes of the film which was when Craig locked Lotte up in the cage and forced her to call Maxine, it is clear that the telephone represented how they were all connected to one another and John Malkovich, as it represented their main source of communication with one another. 

Another film technique observed in the film is the development of characters. An example would be Maxine Lund, who was very bold and unapologetic as she would not be afraid to voice her opinion and state what was on her mind. For example, she felt no shame in telling Craig to his face that she did not find him attractive. She was also quite selfish at times, since she had no problem taking advantage of an unaware man’s brain for profit, and she was also quite manipulative, such as when she decided to marry Craig solely because she knew she could control him and therefore John Malkovich as an extension. Another example would be Craig Schwartz, who was always eager to please when it came to Maxine, proving how he was able to be influenced simply by a pretty face. In this case, he was easily manipulated as his love for Maxine blinded her true actions since he was so desperate for her to reciprocate the same feelings that he felt, but at the same time, he was very manipulative as well. For example, he would threaten his wife to obey his wishes as well as take pleasure in controlling another man’s mind and body without any remorse or guilt. He was also selfish, as he did not think about how his actions could have consequences on other people’s lives, and had no hesitations about pursuing another woman while married. Overall, although they demonstrated them in different ways, Maxine and Craig were actually very similar in certain aspects and shared some of the same characteristics with one another.

There are different scenes and sets introduced in the film Being John Malkovich. One example is when Craig starts his new job on the 7 ½th floor. This approximately 5-foot tall floor, makes the individuals walking among the hall have to crouch in an uncomfortable position. This floor is an introduction to the strange and weird things that present on this floor which enhances the storyline as it adds creativity and originality. Not only that, but the low ceilings of the 7 ½ floor also helped to create the feelings of claustrophobia and suffocation that the characters would feel in certain situations, and also conveyed them to the audience. Another example of a notable set used in the film was Craig and Lotte’s apartment. Their home was that of a zoo; it was disoriented and hectic and there was a lack of cleanliness and chaos which resembles how Craig and Lotte themselves become bewildered after experiencing the portal. Additionally, because Craig and Lotte’s home was so cramped and cluttered, this added to the feelings of tension between the two, and the disorganization reflected their relationship in the way that their feelings and wants were all over the place and unpredictable.

Lighting was also an important film technique used in this movie. For instance, the portal is a very eerie, mysterious and dark setting, which means that when you follow the character into the portal, you can feel the suspense build the deeper they go into it, as what lay beyond had yet to be discovered. Hence, this is an example of low-key lighting as when Craig enters the portal, it is exceptionally sombre and there are shadows which help to set the tone, considering we do not know where he’s going, therefore making it more mysterious. Another example using lighting as a technique, specifically high-key lighting, was when Maxine met John for the first time in the restaurant, which is also when Lotte discovered that the woman who called John for the date was actually Maxine. In this scene, the lighting was very warm and bright which created a very open and romantic atmosphere. This in turn reflected how both John and Lotte viewed Maxine in this very moment, as they both felt attracted to her.

The last film technique being discussed is the acting choice in terms of name selection and performance in their role. The first performance to evaluate is John Cusack, who played Craig Schwartz. He was successful in his role in this film as I think that he portrayed the unstableness and volatility towards his wife in a very believable manner, because it was made clear that he was so consumed by his obsession of control over another human being and being with Maxine that he was slowly forgetting who he was as an individual. Secondly, Cameron Diaz, who played Lotte Schwartz, was successful in playing her role in the movie as she was very convincing in her desperation and obsession with being in John Malkovich’s brain and wanting to be in a male body, which made the character sincere and realistic. Additionally, the role she played of Lotte Schwartz was different from other roles she has played previously, such as her role in the movie "There’s Something About Mary" and "My Best Friend’s Wedding", which showed that she challenged herself with this movie, since it was out of character considering she always plays the role of he pretty blonde.. Therefore, her performance was very successful as she is a sex symbol in Hollywood and in this case, she uglified herself for the role.

  The film touches upon the idea of personal identity and the idea that our society is surrounded by some people who wish to live the life of someone else because they are not satisfied with their own life. As the movie progresses, this theme becomes more and more pronounced and we especially see this through Craig’s character due to the fact that he allows himself to take over his own identity when he enters the mind of John Malkovich. Considering Craig’s challenges with his personal identity, his mannerism, physical appearance as well as his behaviour began reflecting off of John Malkovich because Craig was controlling him. With that being said, Craig felt accomplished and proud of his identity once being in John Malkovich’s body, yet, that all went away and he was back to losing his personal identity when he was tricked into leaving John Malkovich’s mind. 

The movie conveys a lot of different ideas throughout its story. One of the most important is themes is that of consciousness and the relationship between the mind and body. Indeed, when he first travels through the portal, Craig realizes that it brings up a lot of questions about consciousness. What is it? Is it related to the mind or the body or even both? How could two people coexist in the same body but have different thoughts? This implies that the body is mostly a carrier for the mind (and maybe the soul), that consciousness and the way the world is perceived is mostly a question of perspective. The movie also raises the idea of immortality through this mind/body relation. A person can live forever if he changes body when it dies. Could the mind exist without a body? It seems like not. Then, how do we know if our body belongs to us? The movie pushes all these questions to different extremes. When Craig decides to take over John’s body, he suppresses John’s consciousness to control him. John tries to fight back but ends up losing. Such situation also raises many ethical questions about the mind/body relations as to know who the body really belongs to and if it is wrong or not to invade someone’s body.

In Being John Malkovich, a significant theme that is present would be the idea that you must sacrifice something in order to live forever. Various amounts of people strive to live forever and it is by entering a ripped vessel that they can do so. This can been seen through all the people who sacrificed their old bodies, in order to be able to enter a new one. For instance, Dr. Lester is 105 years old, yet he is living in the body of John Malkovich, waiting for a new vessel to be ready. This transition gives them the opportunity to live forever, while also having to give up their dreams.

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The film’s main strength was the symbolism used by the puppets in order to represent on a smaller scale what is really happening in the characters’ reality. Although it is simple and easily understood, it is still somewhat subtle and is portrayed in a really eerie way, as it helps to highlight the degree to which Craig enjoys being able to control others and the extent of his obsession with that power. Another positive about the movie is the fact that it is easy to judge Craig for his actions as an audience member, but once you entertain the thought of being in the same position that he is in, with the opportunity to gain insight and perspective into another person’s life, the line between right and wrong and what you want starts to become a little more blurred. But, there is no shame in that as these types of moral questions are what help us define who we are by the decisions we choose to make, and also show what it means to be human, as it is easier  to be tempted by such ideas of control and power over another individual than we like to admit to ourselves.

On the other hand, what one of the film’s weaknesses is that here were many unanswered questions or unclear concepts, which were confusing because they were not explored enough in the film, such as the idea that Dr. Lester and the other elders were able to live several years because of the portals. For example, if they must be in the host’s head to survive, which is why they had to get rid of Craig from John’s brain, how is it that they were able to live in the real world before that if they had done the same thing previously? Also, how does the portal choose the next person that it connects to? Is there a specific reason for why it happened to be Maxine’s and Lotte’s daughter, or was that just a coincidence? How is the existence of the portal even explained to begin with? Who constructed it? How does it connect directly to the person’s brain and transport someone into it? Finally, if the portal transported Craig to Emily’s brain, how come was he not able to leave like he had done so with John? Is there a reason why he is now stuck there?

Overall, this movie is recommended to two different types of people. The first is someone who enjoys films that cause you to think about different possibilities and answers that could explain the reasons for certain questions raised in the film, such as the ones listed above. The second is someone who enjoys watching these types of bizarre and absurd movies which allow them to question their own existence and reality. On the other hand, if you are a very curious person who tends to over analyze and want answers for everything in order to make sense of the movie, this would not be a recommended film to watch as it would be unsatisfying to not be able to fully understand the concepts and explanations explored in the movie, which would distract you from the main message and intent of the movie. This would therefore make the movie less plausible in turn, even if that was not its main goal in the first place.

1) The first course concept is metaphysics, but to be more specific, the area of metaphysics that can be connected to the movie is how exactly the mind and body are related to one another. To begin, there are people that think that the mind and body go hand in hand with each other, while others consider them to be completely separate. In this movie, this topic is explored further and seems to defend the latter idea. For example, if Craig’s mind was able to enter John’s brain, this means that Craig’s mind left his very own body. Therefore the mind and body in this case would have been isolated from each other, showing that they do not form a single unit together but are instead two separate components. To continue, since Craig was able to enter John’s mind without bringing his body along with him, this indicates that his mind is still fully conscious as well, even when not connected to his own body, which shows that technically, whichever body you have does not impact your state of consciousness in the slightest way. But, at the same time, this raises the complicated idea that the mind still needs a body; just not the one you were necessarily born with. So, as long as the mind is connected to any body, it is fully functional. Additionally, we normally think that physical and mental states are the same or heavily influence each other, but in the case of the movie, one mind is able to observe the behaviour of the body from a distant perspective, while the other controls it. This therefore shows that the mind that is observing is not acting in accordance with the body, which means it is not actually dependent on its behaviour at all, and so it is as though it is a separate entity.

2) The second course concept is axiology, which is philosophical term that is used to explain the concept of ethics. This is related to the film because it questions the characters’ moral values and principles. For example, at no point during the movie does someone oppose the idea of profiting off of the portal that invades someone else’s privacy and body once the plan is open to the public. Therefore, just because nobody opposes it, besides the victim himself, does that mean that what Maxine and Craig, as well as all who participated, did was acceptable? The only way to determine that is subjectively, as you decide by your own moral standards if what they did was right and fair. This statement is applicable to everyone, which means that it can be hard to justify why it would not necessarily be okay or convince them of that, because at the end of the day, Maxine and Craig knew the impacts of their actions; it is just that subjectively, they did not care enough. It is for that reason that moral values cannot be objectively right or wrong, as they are solely based on the individual's own personal perception of what is right or wrong due to their own beliefs, values, and upbringing.

3) The third course concept is experiential consciousness, as it raises the discussion about what it truly means to be someone. Is it enough to control somebody’s body in order to be like them? Therefore is Craig really John Malkovich? Is Lester, or any of the people? Or is there something more to it? After all, when they are in his mind, especially when Craig takes complete control of his body, what happened to the real John Malkovich? And even at that, what is it that makes us still consider that to be the real John Malkovich instead of Craig who is now inside his body? It is an interesting idea to think about when analyzing all of this - after all some may say they are just using him and not actually being him, as there is quite a big difference between the two. It seems easy enough to conclude that the only way you could actually be John Malkovich is if you had his mind, which contains his own personal and subjective experiences that form his own personal identity. But if that’s the case, would it ever be possible to truly understand what it really feels like to be someone else? Using that logic, the answer would be no, as no matter how cheesy it sounds, every person really is unique, and there is no way you could ever replicate it, nor experience it. After all, if you are experiencing it, you are still self-aware enough to realize that you are are someone else - which means that you aren’t truly and completely them.

For More Information...

This article explains how personal identity deals with the many philosophical issues and questions present in ourselves. Additionally, it makes a direct reference to the term “self” and the real meaning behind it. Weblink: https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/identity-personal/

This weblink identifies the characteristics of the human mind as well as the relationship between our mind and our body. It goes in depth on whether or not our mind is truly connected to our body, in addition to the features of consciousness and how it plays a role in our nature of human experiences. Weblink: https://www.utm.edu/staff/jfieser/class/120/3-mind.htm

Questions to Think About...

1-What is the symbolism behind the physical structure of floor 7 1/2?
2-What is the relation between the mind and the body?
3-How do we know who we really are?

WORKS CITED

“Being John Malkovich.” IMDb, IMDb.com, 24 Nov. 1999, www.imdb.com/title/tt0120601/.

CHAPTER 4: MIND AND BODY, www.utm.edu/staff/jfieser/class/120/3-mind.htm.

J. Golden, “Introducing Cinematic and Theatrical Elements in Film” -course packet, 9-17

Olson, Eric T. “Personal Identity.” Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, Stanford University, 9 July 2015, plato.stanford.edu/entries/identity-personal/.

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