Adaptation.

This film is in my Best of the Best. A brutal but painfully hilarious journey into the super-ego of one very self-deprecating and, well, pathetic man. If the real Charlie Kaufman, my hero, is anything like Nick Cage's Charlie Kaufman, life must be a Dostoevskian samsara of missed connections and yearning for the fruition of meaning and hope. But how funny it is to watch it all unravel--at least for us, the viewers. If there's anything Charlie Kaufman specializes in, he surely knows how to sprinkle some charm into his factory line of sad-sack, middle-aged protagonists (i.e. this film, Synechdoche, New York, Eternal Sunshine), even when it isn't so cute in real life. But that is precisely the appeal of writers such as Charlie Kaufman and Woody Allen--the vulnerability and complete lack of ability in their characters to put theories into motion resonates to that passive, wistful side in all of us. In actuality, dealing with these people/ourselves can be an incredibly frustrating task sometimes, thus watching them on screen can be a very entertaining and cathartic experience.

Now I know words like "genius" and "brilliant" are used loosely in terms of art these days, but I wouldn't hesitate to call Adaptation one of the most genius, brilliant scripts ever written. I've always had a thing for stories about writers (saw this one in my UWP Writing for Film class in which all of the films we screened were just that) His Girl Friday, Moulin Rouge, The Hours, The Squid and the Whale... just to name a few. This one, however, takes it to the highest level of metatextuality, mixing genres of drama, action, and comedy, all into one bizarre but ever so glorious adaptation.

Below is what I rep as one of my favorite scenes of all time.



Brian Cox! Perfect. Not even DeNiro could've done it better.

However, upon a second viewing, I see that it's clearly Meryl Streep who steals the whole damn show. Below is a VERY close contender for what might be the BEST scene in the movie (Anthony says no contest). It won't ruin anything if you haven't seen the film, it could only make your life better!



Beautiful.

But you know what really makes this movie ON POINT? The cast. All you need to know is that Meryl Streep is in it, but every other character, no matter how little the part, is played by an actor I already really fucking admire. Maggie Gyllenhaal, Tilda Swinton, Brian Cox, and Catherine Keener (my screen momma!) probably have a combined screen time of 15 minutes, but fuck do they really make it count. Oh, and fuck, CHRIS FUCKING COOPER! I said goddamn. He's amazing/hilarious as the gap-toothed, red-neck, botanical expert, John Laroche. So much more lovable than his character in American Beauty. Shudder.

AND YET: I still can't get past my disdain for Nicholas Cage as the lead, no matter how much I want to wholeheartedly embrace this film. He's the only low-point for me.... which is not to say he isn't good..... but shit...... well I mean shit. When it comes to Nick Cage, there's always someone else who could've played it better.


I am pathetic. I am a loser.

And I was convinced... I guess.

In any case, I appreciated the fact that watching this movie the second time around was much less of a stressful experience. When I first saw it, I was utterly panicked; I didn't know how close of an adaptation this film was to real life, certainly when it got to the ridiculous denouement involving crocodiles and rifles. Of course, upon an imdb search I discovered what an idiot I was, and after that, all was good.

I just saw in an interview that Meryl Streep wanted to do this film because it was "the best script I have ever read", and coming from her, that is saying a whole. bunch.

SO RENT IT/COP IT/WATCH IT/LOVE IT.