Being John Malkovich



"Ever wanted to be someone else?"

The first teaming of director Spike Jonze and screenwriter Charlie Kaufman.

An unemployed puppeteer finds employment as a filing clerk in the 7 1/2th floor at an office building. One day, he finds a hole hidden behind a cabinet, which leads into the head of John Malkovich, an actor who is playing himself in the movie. Anyone who goes inside inhabits John Malkovich's head, seeing what he sees and feeling what he feels, for about 15 minutes, at which point they are dumped on the side of the New Jersey turnpike.

Things get worse. Hilarity Mind Screw ensues. Also, see Being Andrew Plotkin, an Interactive Fiction parody/homage to the film.

This film contains examples of:
"Malkovich: Malkovich Malkovich Malkovich?
 * And I Must Scream: The final fate of . This also happens to.
 * Ambiguously Gay / If It's You It's Okay / Heterosexual Life Partners: The nature of Lotte and Maxine's relationship by the end of the film is open to interpretation.
 * As Himself: His middle name is changed, he's never been in "that jewel thief movie" and he doesn't live in New York, but John Malkovich is indeed playing the actor John Malkovich.
 * Bizarrchitecture: A classic example. I mean, 7 1/2th floor??
 * Black Bug Room: Lotte and Maxine run through Malkovich's.
 * Brick Joke: When Craig, he's holding the plank of wood he had at the very beginning.
 * California Doubling: The whole movie was shot in L.A., but set in New York. When Lotte falls out onto the New Jersey Turnpike for the second time, look in the background for some palm trees that shouldn't exist.
 * The Cameo: Charlie Sheen, Sean Penn and Brad Pitt all play themselves.
 * Defictionalization. A lot of people in the film compliment John Malkovich for his role as a jewel thief. However, as the character repeatedly pointed out, he'd never played a jewel thief by 1999. In 2003, he played a jewel thief in Johnny English.
 * Downer Ending: And how.  To be fair, he did turn into a psychopathic Jerkass.
 * Not to mention
 * Considering that  Doesn't completely eliminate the creepiness factor, though.
 * Considering Maxine, who has Chronic Backstabbing Disorder gets away scot-free and happy...
 * Evil Versus Evil: There are no genuinely moral characters in the film, save . Everyone else is trying to take control of Malkovich, and worse , with no regard for the fact that they're essentially killing them by suppressing their consciousnesses forever.
 * Femme Fatale: Maxine.
 * Foreshadowing: Lotte spends the whole first half of the movie making ridiculous, flower-child psychology statements like "Elijah is suffering from some childhood trauma".
 * Craig performs "Craig's Dance of Despair" with a puppet at the opening,
 * Near the beginning of the movie Craig and Lotte are making dinner and the parrot is being annoying. When Lotte goes to put it up it says "Help! She's locking me in a cage!" and it's kind of cute. Later in the movie however
 * Early on, Maxine asks Craig,
 * Genre Busting: A comedy drama laden with surrealism which functions as a borderline philosophy course.
 * Grand Theft Me: The entire point of the doorway inside the Mertin Flemmer Building.
 * Granola Girl: Lotte, and how.
 * If I Can't Have You: in the film's climax.
 * Karma Houdini:
 * Malkovich Malkovich: Malkovich Malkovich Malkovich Malkovich, Malkovich Malkovich Malkovich Malkovich Malkovich.
 * Malkovich Malkovich: Malkovich Malkovich Malkovich Malkovich, Malkovich Malkovich Malkovich Malkovich Malkovich.
 * Malkovich Malkovich: Malkovich Malkovich Malkovich Malkovich, Malkovich Malkovich Malkovich Malkovich Malkovich.

Malkovich: Malkovich Malkovich."


 * Mental Story: A significant chunk of the movie takes place in Malkovich's head.
 * Mental World: The chase through John Malkovich's unconscious mind.
 * Missing Floor: Level 7 1/2. In order to get there, you have to block the elevator and pry open its door with a crowbar.
 * Mind Screw: In more ways than one.
 * Pokémon-Speak: The Mental World Malkoviches.
 * Primal Scene: In Malkovich's subconscious.
 * Sex By Proxy: Oh yeah.
 * Sitting Sexy On a Piano: Used disturbingly..
 * Triang Relations: Type 12.
 * Weirdness Censor: Granted he didn't witness what Malkovich was going through firsthand, but perhaps it's fitting (especially given the events of 2011) that Charlie Sheen didn't think anything Malkovich was saying sounded weird at all. Actually, he found the whole thing kinda hot.
 * What Could Have Been: If the movie itself made you raise an eyebrow or three, check out the original version of the script. Your head could conceivably explode trying to fathom it ever working on screen. And the movie had Malkovichworld, so that's saying something.
 * Additionally, had Malkovich turned down the role, the film would most likely have been titled Being Steve Buscemi.
 * What Do You Mean It Wasn't Made On Drugs?: have you seen this movie?
 * What Have I Become?: Craig actually says this when he considers how he . Then he goes right on doing what he was doing.
 * Where Are They Now? Epilogue: Of a sort. More like a who are they now epilogue.