Skip to main content

Adaptation.

Charlie Kaufman writes the way he lives... With Great Difficulty. His Twin Brother Donald Lives the way he writes... with foolish abandon. Susan writes about life... But can't live it. John's life is a book... Waiting to be adapted. One story... Four Lives... A million ways it can end.
The above is precisely what the Spike Jonze film Adaption is about. Charlie Kaufman is a truly mad guy. If one would ask me what kind of a film adaption is this, I would simply stand confused. Was it a documentary? Was it a drama? I don't know but it was too good a film. More than the quality of the film as a whole I was impressed with the kind of writing that Charlie Kaufman came up with and the smart way with which Spike Jonze executed it.
The writing is the highlight of the film. It is about the struggle of Kaufman in trying to adapt the novel The Orchid Thief rather than being an adaption of the novel. The characters would all seem real and Spike would make every viewer believe. Ofcourse, it is possible to guess that there is fiction here and there in the film but guess what Charlie came up with a fictitious twin brother, Donald, who is even credited as the co-writer of the film. The film discusses one of my favorite issues, writer's block. Since the film is from the perspective of a writer there is so much of ideas and views discussed in the film. This was also something that interested me. When I watched Eternal Sunshine of a Spotless Mind and Being John Malkovich, I was indeed impressed but I never thought that Kaufman could come up with a movie that was even more weird and real.
The performances add color and life to the writing. Nicholas Cage is wonderful in his dual role. Meryl Streep and Chris Cooper are also wonderful and share splendid chemistry. Brian Cox appears as Robert McKee at one point in the film and that is something I never thought I would see though the film refers to McKee at different points in the beginning of the film. There are good looking ladies like Tilda Swinton, Maggie Gyllenhaal and Judy Greer in smaller roles as well which makes the casting quite an interesting one.
Adaption is a mad film about the struggle in adapting a book for a movie and there is some fun and some fantasy here, pure Charlie Kaufman style!

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Green Street Days

Green Street Hooligans is a 2005 English film directed by Lexi Alexander and Bangalore Days is a 2014 Malayalam film directed by Anjali Menon. Both the film may not share much in common in the outside but they do have their own share of strange similarities. Green Street Hooligans and Bangalore Days have a plot point that is very similar in idea. No, this is not the strange similarity that I'm trying to talk about. Green Street narrates a story about football hooliganism and Bangalore Days a story about three cousins. Yes, these are actually very different ideas and obviously not 'strange' similarity! Both these films are directed by female filmmakers. In fact, both these films are the second feature length films directed by each. It's interesting to note that the themes these films deal with aren't exactly the kind that is expected of them. Green Street is a very violent film. It's a crime film on the backdrop of sports. And Bangalore days is meant to be...
2 comments
Read more

Second Show

Disclaimer This post isn't meant to offend anyone. But if you feel that I'm a bitching asshole, I'm sorry. I still want to post this. Prologue Ok, this post might go a little too long. This isn't a review for you to decide if you need to spend money to watch this film called Second Show. This is a writing of the director's friend, who later on turned out to be an assistant director in his film and then a movie goer who ended up seeing the film his friend made. Chapter 1: Build up Before I write anything about the film that I have seen, I would like a rewind. Like a cliched boy who is about to propose to his girl, I bloody don't know where to begin! Your blogger, that's me, Appu N. Bhattathiri, happened to have worked in this film called Second Show as an assistant director. Yes, I know that line sounds like a self promotion sort of a stuff, but it's the truth! I'm a guy with some complexes which I have to admit. Even though I'm proud th...
7 comments
Read more

The Truman Show

All the world's a stage, And all the men and women merely players; They have their exits and their entrances; And one man in his life plays many parts; His acts being seven ages. These are the words of Shakespeare and the story of Truman is very much summed up in these lines.  The Truman Show is terrific idea. I watched the film and loved it. The writing was exceptionally brilliant and Jim Carrey as Truman and Ed Harris as the creator of the show were just perfect. I really don't know what I should write about the film but it was one that affected me well. I did not have anything beyond the world of Truman to think for hours after I saw the film. Such a cinematic and surrealistic idea portrayed with immense class and maturity. Peter Weir's execution and Andrew Niccol's writing simply make the show of Truman an experience that is emotional and almost unforgettable. The Truman Show has serious content and that is something that would be very relevant for a ...
2 comments
Read more