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Photo © Columbia Pictures
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Adaptation
Drama
1 hr. 54 min.
December 6, 2002
R for language, sexuality, some drug use and violent images
Columbia Pictures
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Starring: Nicolas Cage, Meryl Streep, and Chris Cooper
Directed By: Spike Jonze
Produced By: Jonathan Demme, Edward Saxon, and Vincent Landay
Screenplay By: Charlie and Donald Kaufman
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Reviewed
By: Wellington Lee
Rated 2.75/5
Spike Jonze (director) and Charlie Kaufman( screenplay) team up again(“Being
John Malkovich”) in a hilarious ride of multiple plots and time skips.
Sony Dreamworks hired Kaufman(appreciating the originality of “Being...Malkovich”)to
adapt Susan Orleans’ best selling book on the *maverick Orchid Collector
John Laroche. Writer Kaufman struggled for months with Orleans’ flowing
book, trying to find a ‘Hollywood’ plot and theme approach -then
a creative one, until finally just turning his writing and creative struggle
into the actual movie(screenplay).
“Adaptation” opens with Charlie (Nicholas Cage) on the set of an
apparent movie in the Everglades. We are also taken to the set of Being... Malkovich”,
where we see Charlie(as the real life writer), interact with the crew and discuss
this screenplay.
Jonze(dir.) & Kaufman then Cut back to scenes of the writer “Charlie” trying
to discipline himself to pen this Story about flowers(Orchids). Charlie(Cage)talks ‘self
critically’ to himself about going bald, being overweight, and profusely
sweating when he’s around a pretty woman. He can’t even follow up
on the love me signals His ‘soul mate date’, Helen, sends. Charlie’s
only relief from this comic but audience empathetic self loathing is his sexual
self- gratification. He fantasizes about being suave
& confident, and actually kissing “Helen” or “Susan”=Studio
Executive (played captivatingly by Tilda swinton).
His twin, womanizing and ‘shallow’Don(also played by Cage), interrupts
these infrequent moments of tension relief, pestering Charlie about his own 1st
time writing attempt: a cliche ridden “serial killer” screenplay
.Charlie can’t kick out his apartment crashing brother. So he deals with
Don’s frequent “writing advice interruptions”(to audience Hoots!),
admonishing Don NOT to use the term “pitch a screenplay”(2 min. story
sales pitch to producers). He even corrects Don‘s mis-pronunciation of
the screenplay term:”.. denoooment..”(correct=denouement). Brother
Don just finished taking a screenplay seminar from real life Guru Robert Mckee(played
perfectly by Brian Cox). All the while Charlie hilariously vilifies Mckee and
Hollywood script formulas, tidy predictable plots, and Stock heroes/heroines.
But as brother Don’s cliche ridden thriller screenplay, much of it supplied
sardonically by Charlie, is bought and takes off-Charlie attends 1 seminar by
Mckee(B. Cox), pestering him with questions about his own writer’s block.
Despite getting a drumming public reproach at the seminar’s Q & A.
session, desperate Charlie hounds Mckee who agrees to a drink and gives him this
hilarious advice(Hollywood formula) :”You’ve got to WOW ‘EM
at the end”.
But wait! There is another storyline that this creative team spins for us.This
flick is about making a movie from a book (“the Orchid thief”), Right??!
Enter Meryl Streep as the feature writer and later book author Susan Orleans.
The movie cuts back & forth from Charlie’s struggles, to the original
writer’s story: “New Yorker magazine’s- Susan Orlean’s
initial interview with the real life, quirky & flamboyant ‘Orchid collector’,
John Laroche (Chris Cooper-Golden Globe winner).
Laroche is: a brilliant, redneck, self taught botanist, (front)toothless and “Case
law” scholar. He works with Seminole Indians in the Florida Everglades,
searching and harvesting rare Orchids. He baits and verbally berates State & Federal
wildlife officers into arresting him for removing these protected plants from
preserve areas. He then makes a test case out
of it, by letting the Seminoles’ handle the plants. Indians who have won
this right(test cases) to operate on their native, but protected lands. His strong,
original style captivates Susan’s imagination and eye for amusing detail.
She rides around his cluttered white van listening to his philosophy of life “..the
way life forms adapt and find their own
purposes..”. To this introspective but universal truth:" The thing
about passion is, it whittles life down to a manageable size.”
Neither Susan nor self-absorbed, loathing Charlie, have that kind of passion.
From Susan and hubbies’ N.Y. intellectual cocktail parties where Laroche
stories Are the dilettantes’ entertainment; to Laroche’s own relentless
passion for a rare “Ghost Orchid”, Susan is faced with her own ardorless
life.
We are taken back to Charlie’s writer’s block(based on this ‘real ’Kaufman’s
screenplay troubles). He wants twin Don to pretend to be him, and meet with Studio
Executive Susan, to put her off and give him more time. But Don has other ideas.
He decides that writer Susan IS hiding something in her free flowing book account
of Laroche, and talks Charlie into flying to N.Y., spying on her there, and then
following her to Florida. The Hollywood “..wow ’em at the end...” starts
to enfold here. Just what Charlie’s character abhors and the 1st half of
the film hilariously parodies.
In Florida, Susan finally decides to test her restlessness and try a hallucinogenic
compound purportedly derived from Orchids. It has its intended effect culminating,
of course, in Susan & Laroche resolving any outstanding personal feelings.
Many reviewers have referred to Susan’s(Streep’s)”stoned” interaction
with a dial tone. Good laugh.
Don leads Charlie into an awkward ‘face to face’ with this odd ‘couple’,
and the flick’s Third Act takes off in a wild and unexpected ride. Without
giving it away, Charlie and director Jonze “wow us” with a Major
Studio type of high action ending. The 1st Act’s villified screenplay Guru “Robert
Mckee‘s” formula is followed. It resolves for the real life writer
Kaufman, and his movie counterpart “Charlie”, how to get past the
writer’s block, even if experienced moviegoers cry:“Foul!”.
With its handful of concurrent subplots and playfulness with the audience, this
is still a groundbreaking, original movie concept:A commissioned writer’s
real life struggle to adapt a rambling & protracted, best selling book. Screenwriter
Kaufman risks writing about this struggle, inventing a twin brother(watch the
credits!;fiction)to epitomize vacuous B.S.ing Hollywood creative types.All the
while capturing the quirkiness and eccentricity of real life “Orchid thief/collector” Laroche.
Sit back and enjoy this ride! Much in the movie will inspire young, original
film makers. Low budget Independent isn’t the only game/career. Big budget
and major stars can enhance a brilliant screenplay and talented Director team. |
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