Movie: Adaptation
Starring Nicholas Cage, Meryl Streep, Chris Cooper, Brian Cox
Directed by Spike Jonez; Written by Charles Kaufman (Columbia)
Reviewed by Rusty Pipes


Adaptation is a deliciously bent fantasy that takes us inside the mind of a screenwriter as he struggles to adapt a bestseller into a hit movie.

The movie's screenplay may be the best thing about the movie, but it all would have gone nowhere without Nick Cage. It's been a long time since he's been in something this good: the dual role of Charlie Kaufman and his screenwriter-wannabe brother Donald is complex and he brings them out like they're two sides of the same brain. By the way, at the opening of the movie both Kaufmans are listed in the credits just to throw us all off balance. Likewise the book Charlie is trying to adapt, The Orchid Thief, is a real book by Susan Orleans. Off balance is the name of the game here and Kaufman has a lot of fun twisting the problems of writer's block around to his advantage.

There's a lot of tropical footage mixed in with Kaufman's study that you might not expect, but the addition of the theme of wild flowers in the deep Everglades makes the imagery of the film richly seductive, contrasting mightily the absurd conflict of the two screenwriting brothers. Meryl is perfect as Susan Orleans, with whom Charlie becomes obsessed, and she in turn becomes obsessed with Chris Cooper, who plays a strange downhome Everglades orchid expert that seems to posses some secret knowledge. Or is he just scamming everyone? Also Brian Cox is a worthy addition to the cast as a lecturer who runs a course on screenwriting. Of course Donald thinks the world of him and successful Charlie feels he's a hack, but he's so blocked and at such a loss for advice he is hopelessly drawn to him.

Filmmaker Spike Jonez gets a lot of credit for pulling such an eclectic mix off. The movie is laugh out loud funny in spots, especially the questions Donald asks Charlie on how to write a hit movie, and it's full of interesting tidbits of philosophy too. The weakest part of the film though is the chase scene and violence at the end. It seems tacked on, but something had to resolve all these twisted themes; maybe Donald wrote that part.

Ultimately, very few stories about writing are as entertaining as this one. This year's screenwriting Oscar is probably landing in Charlie Kaufman's hands.

The Skinny:
Am I glad I saw the film? Definitely
Would I go to see it again? Some parts are very subtle; I'd like to see how well Kaufman's work holds up.

© 2003 - Rusty Pipes