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Being John Malkovich film image; big crowd of people holding up masks of one man's face

Being John Malkovich

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Taking a job as a filing clerk on the seventh-and-a-half floor (don’t ask), John Cusack happens across a portal into the head of John Malkovich, the actor. Chivvied along by maneater Catherine Keener, he starts selling tickets to interested parties, but not before his wife (an unrecognisably frumpy Cameron Diaz) has decided she likes being a man so much she needs a sex change operation…

This was the feature debut for director Spike Jonze, after making his name with inspired music videos for the likes of Fatboy Slim and the Beastie Boys, and the first produced screenplay for writer Charlie Kaufman. (They would collaborate again on Adaptation.) There’s real yearning in this darkly bizarre, mind-bending comedy about voyeurism, sex, and the human desire to play God. You can’t get much further out of the box than this.

 

Staff Pick: Eirinn & Emma

 

Devilishly inventive and so far out there it’s almost off the scale.

David Rooney, Variety

An incredibly rich and entertaining (not to say, laudably malevolent) film that far transcends its already way-out title premise.

Jonathan Romney, Sight & Sound

 

Media Partner

Director

Spike Jonze

Cast

John Cusack, Catherine Keener, Cameron Diaz, John Malkovich

Credits
Country of Origin

USA

Year

1999

Language

English

19+
113 min

Book Tickets

Saturday August 22

8:30 pm
Hearing Assistance
VIFF Centre - VIFF Cinema
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Thursday August 27

4:30 pm
Hearing Assistance
VIFF Centre - VIFF Cinema
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Credits

Producer

Michael Stipe, Sandy Stern, Steve Golin, Vincent Landay

Screenwriter

Charlie Kaufman

Cinematography

Lance Acord

Editor

Eric Zumbrunnen

Original Music

Carter Burwell

Production Design

K. K. Barrett

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